Cheesecake
by GriefSyndrome
Summary: The universe is governed by the Law of the Cycle. Mami Tomoe, once the sole defender of Mikatihara, chances across the young girl Nagisa Momoe during one of her hunts. She saves her life and takes her in as her protogé, only to find Nagisa has saved her life in a way she couldn't have fathomed. (Alternate timeline to Rebellion. Fluff and serious together, non-romantic.)
1. Chapter 1

_(Advance notice: Alternate universe that takes place outside of Rebellion, where Nagisa actually survives. Given how little is known about wraiths and Madokami's new world, as well as Nagisa, I took some liberties for the sake of writing. Hopefully they're acceptable.)_

* * *

><p>Mitakihara City was generally quiet. Like most of human society, it wasn't without its troubles, yet there was always a benevolent guardian walking its streets. Mami Tomoe would spend each evening after her classes wandering around intersections, hospitals, bridges, anywhere where someone may try to hurt themselves or others.<p>

She wasn't exactly what you would call a vigilante; her eyes were simply open to the world and the secrets behind human despair. She would hold her soul gem in her palm, and with a delicate step enter realms that were hidden to mortal eyes.

It was difficult to describe how magical girls like Mami fought the monsters known as wraiths. The demons were born of the hatred and woes of humans and would stalk them, invisible, until the person was driven to their death. They had a reality all of their own, shrouded in miasma, visible only to fighters such as Mami. Though they weren't typically very strong, they were many, and seeing a horde of their faceless figures could spark the beginnings of madness or terror in the weak or fragile-minded.

Mami was a veteran, however, and knew no more fear against the demons. She would raise her rifles against them without hesitation, determined to fight until her dying day, when the law of the cycle would come to claim her soul and ferry her to the beyond.

"I want to survive." Every battle, she reminded herself of her wish—or moreover her memories of it persisted in her mind. She was still alive and would continue fighting, no matter what, out of a sense of duty and justice. She had had acquaintances in the past, other magical girls whom she fought alongside, yet, without fail, each one insisted on going their own way, interested more in helping themselves than keeping company.

The one girl whom she had held closest to her heart eventually lost sight of their share sense of justice and nobility. Kyouko Sakura, the girl whom she had been prepared to call a sister, had even come forward to say she didn't really see them as friends, anymore. Her last attempt to reach out had resulted in Kyouko returning to her home town; she hadn't heard from her since.

That was about a year ago. Mami tried to hold memories of fonder times and mask her depression behind the facade of a normal, average school girl, yet deep down she understood that she was undeniably alone. No time for clubs or friends at school—not that she'd relate to her normal peers, anyway; no family to return home to: just herself and her apartment. The closest thing she had to a "friend" was the creature known as Kyubey, whom would often appear before hunting wraiths. His company wasn't unwelcome, yet his inability to comprehend human emotions sometimes unnerved Mami more than she needed.

On this particular night, she was tracing the signals of wraiths around a hospital. Kyubey had come with, walking by her feet._ "The miasma seems to be coming from inside the building. The wraiths are probably inside. How do you plan to proceed?"_ the incubator asked.

"This might be a bit tricky," Mami confessed, brushing one of the twintails of her hair. "I may be able to enter through the visitor center, or slip in through one of the open windows." She scanned the side of the building. It was starting to get late, so most of the windows were closed. Temporarily dismissing that plan, she entered the lobby of the hospital.

Ghastly clouds of grief seemed to flood out of every corner, ignored and unseen by the nurses, doctors, and families in the waiting room. The demons were likely in the patients' rooms. Wraiths would feed off of depression and grief, amplifying the physical suffering a sick body might endure. Disgusting.

A nurse looked up from the desk, noticing Mami, "Good evening, are you here to see someone? Just a reminder visiting hours will be closing soon," she stated, almost robotically.

Mami absentmindedly nodded as Kyubey, unseen by normal humans, moved ahead, trying to find an area where the miasma was thick enough to enter so they might begin their work. "Yes, I'm here to visit," she quickly thought up a name to distract the nurse, "Ayako Mitsuya."

The nurse looked down, beginning to search the databases on her computer. _"Mami, I've found a way in, come quickly,"_ Kyubey called out telepathically. The nurse looked up, "I'm sorry, it doesn't appear that we have—" her voice trailed off as she noticed Mami was gone.

Fortunately there weren't many doctors around to see Mami slip by. She held her soul gem out in front of her, before a cloud of mist. He gem lit up as her magical girl garb materialized around her body, as around her reality began to slip away. By the time her feet touched the ground once more, she was in a pale, shadowy reflection of the hospital, with ghastly, disturbing moans echoing down its halls. Shadows of the humans in the real world still wandered through these halls, yet the wraiths were now physically manifested.

Which meant now they could be killed.

Kyubey jumped up onto Mami's shoulders as a rifle materialized in her hands. She began to step through the halls, listening intently, before taking a turn into a nearby room.

It was never a refreshing sight to see a wraith standing over the shadow of a human. Just barely visible in this alternate realm, a faint image of a person was still seen grieving, pained in their hospital bed, possibly sobbing. The wraith stood there, motionless until disturbed, ignoring Mami's presence, preoccupied with its "meal".

It finally turned its head, acknowledging Mami, who without hesitation raised her rifle and fired, piercing its head with a magical gunshot. The wraith vanished into dust, a few fragments of its curses falling to the ground, which Kyubey promptly swept up with his tail before returning to Mami.

The human's shadow appeared to stop writhing, beginning to rest easy. Mami smiled, satisfied, even if only temporarily—the gunshot alerted the rest of the wraiths in the area of her presence, and they were not prepared to go down without a fight.

The halls felt disproportionately large and open now, with demons coming out of all directions and rooms. Their sizes varied—many were larger than a human, a few even towered over Mami. A wraith's size depended upon how engorged they were with grief, violence, and despair. Regardless, this was child's play. Mami cast her arm aside, an onslaught of muskets spawning around her as they opened fire.

The first wave of the horde fell fast as more charge forward with eerie roars. Mami grabbed an spent rifle, turning it on its end to club the nearest horror before spawning a new weapon to blast the next in the face. She spun about, never missing a step or a shot, alternating between a strike and gunfire in a graceful ballet of death.

She wasn't afraid. Not anymore. A year or two ago she would have never thought to come to a hospital to face these odds, yet tonight she was in absolute control. Beast after beast dropped around her as she herself was unable to be scathed, until finally only one remained.

It was a large one, staring her down with its eyeless face, hesitating before striking. The wraith gave a growling moan, which Mami only returned with a small smile. She cast her arm up, a ribbon extending from it, as she whipped it forward. The ribbon coiled and let off a flash, transforming into a large cannon.

The hammer on the cannon came down, igniting the flint with a spark. "Tiro… finale!" she cried out, as it fired a generous blast straight through the wraith's core, banishing it in flames. The gun vanished after making its attack, as Mami relaxed her stance.

Kyubey immediately retrieved the curses that had been dropped, before Mami noticed something. "Why hasn't the miasma faded yet?" she asked as Kyubey returned to her shoulder once more.

_"Perhaps you're not done. If a wraith is well distracted it may not have heeded your intrusion,"_ Kyubey answered. _"We can investigate further, or we can leave now—we have plenty of curses available for purification."_

Of course Mami wasn't about to leave a demon unchecked. She stepped through the hall. It was a little unsettling to not know where one's enemy lay. Mami continued forward, listening intently. For the most part, the shadow world seemed quiet, muffled murmurs from the real world barely echoing to her ears. From what she could hear, none of it sounded distressed, at least to the point of being indicative of a wraith. Yet, before long she began to hear sobs.

She continued, following the whimpers. They were becoming more audible, beginning to couple with the groans of a wraith. Something didn't seem right, however; as she drew closer, the sobs became more and more clear.

She turned a corner before stopping at a door. The sounds were coming from inside. Slowly, she opened it. A wraith was standing over a figure as expected, yet surprisingly she could see another girl in the corner, cowering, staring at the wraith. She was fully visible, trapped in the miasma as well, wearing a brown hood and orange shawl, her hair pale white. The whimpers stopped as she went silent, looking at Mami, equally surprised to see another human.

The wraith, who had been ignoring the girl, turned from its feasting upon the human to look at Mami. Mami was still looking at the girl, too surprised to move. The wraith began to turn its form, moving to strike.

"W-watch out!" the girl squeaked. Mami snapped to her senses right at the wraith lunged. A small, double-barrel musket appeared in her hand as she blasted the wraith right in its face, inches before it reached her.

With that, the mist began to slowly recede. Reality flickered back about them, as Mami found herself in the hospital room of a very sick woman, a heart monitor letting off slow, weak beeps. The girl was still in the corner, not moved from before. Mami wasn't sure how to react, meeting her gaze, before deciding to dismiss her magical girl attire to return to her school uniform. As she expected, the girl likewise flickered in white light before her outfit faded away, leaving her in a simple pink dress.

_"Ah, Nagisa Momoe,"_ Kyubey broke the silence. _"I did not expect you would still be here. Pardon us for intruding."_

They stared at one another wordlessly, before being interrupted by a steady ring from the heart monitor. The woman's heart stopped, as the girl rushed to her side with panicked cries of "mama" between gasps and sudden, uncontrollable sobbing.

* * *

><p>The doctors eventually came in and the woman was confirmed deceased. Nagisa was sitting in Mami's lap in one of the chairs of the room, using her shoulder to muffle her crying and dry her tears. Despite being a total stranger, Mami held her arms around the girl in an embrace, wanting nothing more than to alleviate her grief. One doctor, not recognizing Mami, turned to ask her for identification. "I'm Mami Momoe. I arrived a few minutes ago for my cousin, Nagisa Momoe," she lied, taking advantage of Kyubey's earlier identification, gently trying to comfort the crying girl in her arms by brushing her fingers through her hair. The doctor nodded, assuming the statement to be genuine based on Nagisa's reaction to Mami, and didn't bother the two of them further.<p>

After a few hours, Mami was able to walk Nagisa out of the hospital. The crying had diminished to occasional sniffs and sobs, but Nagisa was able to explain as best she could:

Nagisa herself was born a sick child. Her health would dip in and out of stable as she was growing up, and as a result she was never able to sate her sweet tooth when young. To make matters worse, her mother had contracted a cancerous disease months back, and her health had been fluctuating just as much as Nagisa's. Yet, even in her lowest times, she only could lament the health of her daughter. Soon the disease had become so crippling that she had been confined to the hospital, her body taking a rapid decline. She stroked Nagisa's head, wishing that she could share some of Nagisa's favorite cheesecake one last time.

It was then when Kyubey appeared to Nagisa, and explained his offer. In her situation, there was no way she would refuse a wish. Her mother's words fresh in her mind, she wished to share such a desert. It was unknown if the contract was what restored Nagisa's health, or if it was simply the process of becoming a magical girl, but her mom awoke from resting to the pleasant surprise of cake which they cut into and were happy, despite the tears both of them were holding back.

After the meal, her mother insisted on resting, her energy having left her. Nagisa had noticed the aura of grief starting to overtake the hospital then, though before it shrouded her mother, Kyubey had asked her why she didn't wish to simply cure her mother.

The wraith that had been feasting on her mother's life was a byproduct of her grief and now-disappointed expectations. It was the first one Nagisa had faced, and she had been too afraid to act, convinced she had killed her own mother. If Mami hadn't arrived in time, she likely would have fallen to despair or been killed as soon as it had finished with her mother.

Mami had brought the girl to her apartment to give her something sweet to eat to hopefully alleviate some of her sadness. With a motherly sense of care, she also examined Nagisa's soul gem, using some of the surplus curses she had collected that night to purify the tears that earlier that day had begun to stain it black.

"Do you have any other family to stay with?" Mami asked tenderly, cautious about upsetting her further as Nagisa was helping herself to a slice of cake.

Nagisa paused her cake acquisition as she shook her head, crossing her feet on her pillow. "I don't have a dad… They wanted to put me in an orphanage." Her voice was starting to quaver slightly, as she felt a pit returning to her stomach. The cake sat untouched on her plate. "I'm scared…" Mami slid a little closer to her to offer her a hug. Nagisa nestled her head against Mami's chest, a few tears in her eyes as she whimpered, "I miss my mom…"

Mami cooed softly to her, stroking her head to try and pacify her. "I know you do…" The tears started to run down Nagisa's cheeks as she sniffed again. "I'm so sorry, Nagisa... I know what it's like..." Mami decided to chance an ask: "Would you like to stay with me, instead? At least for now."

Pausing briefly, Nagisa gave a wordless nod, nuzzling against Mami before hugging her tighter. Her voice was quiet and frail, "If it's okay..."

Mami gave a comforting smile. "I have a place for you to sleep, it's no trouble at all. Plus, we're both magical girls. It only makes sense that we would help each other, right?"

Nagisa gave a small nod, most of her sobbing finally quiet once more. She yawned, leaning on Mami's shoulder, her eyes fluttering. Though the day had been upsetting for her, she felt oddly safe with Mami, and was willing to let sleep overtake her.


	2. Chapter 2

Nagisa awoke on a small futon in Mami's room the following morning. There was another bed in the room, presumably Mami's, its sheets pressed down tidily. Seeing the bed empty, she felt the beginnings of dread creeping upon her—had she been abandoned?—until her nose interrupted her worries with a sweet scent.

She recognized the smell: pancakes. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and got up, following her nose to the main room of the apartment where the kitchen was located. Mami was standing over the stove with an apron on, the sizzling of batter releasing a warm, sweet aroma into the room. "Good morning, Nagisa," she said warmly, not averting her eyes from the hotcakes.

Nagisa was silent, watching intently as the cakes were flipped, their undersides golden brown. Mami began to pile the finished hotcakes onto a large plate in a stack, next to a plate full of eggs. "You hungry?" she asked, splitting the stack on to two smaller plates before bringing them over to the table where a bottle of syrup was waiting.

Nagisa wasted no time, devouring her meal ravenously, prompting Mami to refill her plate with the remaining pancakes and more eggs, which likewise were soon eaten as well. Mami smiled with feigned nervousness, "I'm not sure if I can keep up with your appetite," she joked.

"Sorry…" Nagisa muttered, looking down sheepishly. Mami interjected, "No, it's fine, I was just making a little joke!" She folded her hands, changing the subject. "Did you sleep okay, last night?" Nagisa gave a small nod, still not speaking. "Since I don't have classes today, I guessed it might be a smart idea to gather up any of your belongings and clothes from your old home and bring them here…"

"I don't have much," Nagisa murmured, still not looking up. "It's a waste of time." In reality, she just didn't want to visit her old home. She didn't want to fill herself up with memories so soon, after what had happened last night.

"I'm sure you must have something," Mami asked. Nagisa pulled her knees up to hug them and shook her head. Mami noticed she was starting to tremble, prompting her to follow up: "Well… I guess we can probably make due with what we have available." The trembling began to stabilize. Mami didn't have a lot of money to her name, yet she did have a few ideas to try to ensure Nagisa was properly cared for.

After the meal, the two spent the morning and afternoon browsing some shops in the city. Mami had enough money to buy Nagisa just a few dresses and an extra pair of shoes—unfortunately not enough to get Nagisa through the entire week. However, she did have enough to stop by a fabric store, where she picked up some supplies.

The day was spent mostly in leisure. The two headed down to the park, giving Nagisa some space to run around, feed some of the ducks, and simply be an ordinary girl for a while. Mami meanwhile sat in a park bench, pulling out a notebook as she began to draw up figures and plans, diagrams of outfits, writing small notes in the margin. Nagisa never strayed far from the bench, often pausing her meandering to glance over to Mami to make sure she was still there. Likewise, Mami would glance back, smiling warmly, either acknowledging Nagisa or simply content to see her happy.

Something had clicked between them somewhere between the prior night and that morning, something warm and welcome. Neither of them were able to express it, but, in wake of their pasts, neither of them felt alone anymore. Each of them felt needed by the other. It was the kind of feeling that, when you're scared, when all seems lost and despondent, you still feel the need to press on, because there is someone out there who needs you more than you need yourself.

Mami turned to a fresh page in her book and continued drawing.

* * *

><p>The two returned to Mami's apartment just before the sun started to set. Mami set the supplies and her notebook on her desk, heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the two.<p>

Nagisa helped by fetching ingredients for Mami when she asked, and otherwise waited intently. Mami prepared a basic tempura meal for the two, before sitting down to eat. A little more conscious of her behavior, Nagisa ate her food politely, not wolfing it down like she had earlier that morning.

Fortunately, her behavior was rewarded. Mami prepared some tea and brought out some tiramisu she had made two days ago. Nagisa was given a large slice—it was rich and sweet, enough to make her pause in a minor sugar coma partway through.

As to be expected, she finished her cake before Mami, who was taking her time to savor each bite. "You know, I never had anyone else to cook for," Mami commented with a smile, taking a sip of her tea. "It's nice to have someone to share all this food with. It'd never get eaten otherwise!"

Nagisa only had a glass of milk herself, which she took a sip of before absentmindedly changing the subject: "What's all the cloth for?" she asked.

"You'll see soon enough," Mami assured her, as if the answer wasn't obvious. After finishing her last bite of cake, she procured her soul gem, taking a glance at it. "It's about time for me to head out and patrol the streets," she said, her voice ever-so-slightly regretful. As she was about to speak again, Nagisa interjected:

"Can I come? Please?" she begged. She wasn't eager to face wraiths, but she was even less eager to be left alone.

Mami sighed, considering the thought briefly. "It's going to be dangerous, you know. I don't want you getting hurt…" She folded her arms. "You're still very new to this, and still very young. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you under my watch."

"Then teach me!" Nagisa tried to hide the nervousness in her voice. She wasn't quite thinking before she spoke. "I want to fight too! I can be a good magical girl! Be my senpai, Mami-san!" she blurted out, all at once.

Mami paused briefly, blushing a little bit before giggling. Nagisa recoiled a little bit, bowing her head in shame. "Oh my… Me? A senpai?" Mami asked herself. She sighed, a little more content than early, before looking at Nagisa. "I guess it's good to learn early… Though, just because you're cute, it doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," she said with a smile. "It'll be difficult. You have to promise to practice hard if we're to become a magical girl duo."

Nagisa was re-encouraged, as she gave an ecstatic nod. "I promise!" Mami's smile widened in response, as she concluded, "Well, let's not waste any time then. Your first lesson will be tonight." She got to her feet, heading towards the door, her eager apprentice skipping to her heels.

* * *

><p>Each night, the two would head out together, the younger learning all she could from the elder, quickly growing to be more competent. Despite the building confidence, Nagisa would always keep close to Mami's side. The two were inseparable, both in and out of combat. Nagisa learned everything she could about magical girl duties and techniques, including how to trace a wraith, where a magical girl could follow the tugs and signals their soul gem would give off that would eventually lead to a cloud of miasma.<p>

Outside of combat and hunting, with Mami's help Nagisa once more enrolled in the elementary school a block down from the high school. Classes were always the last thing on her mind: she had a severe amount of trouble paying attention and wouldn't socialize with other students, her mind constantly shifting back to Mami, nervously. She had begun to wear a new assortment of clothes, much of it hand-stitched by Mami, which helped to alleviate some of her anxiety. The two would rendezvous at the end of each day to walk home, Nagisa always insisting upon throwing herself into a hug upon reunion.

On this evening in particular, they had opted to immediately go into a hunt around the mall, trace signs of madness indicating a wraith might be present. Their tracking led them to the parking garage and ultimately the basement below the mall where the beginnings of miasma were visible.

"Isn't this a weird place for wraiths, though?" Nagisa asked, holding Mami's hand, walking beside her. She wasn't afraid. She was wearing an orange blouse made by her mentor, and was always within arm's reach. Mami gave a nod. "It is, but it's not impossible for them to be here still. There were signs pointing here, and it looks like they were right," she explained, a pale mist began to wash over their feet.

The halls of the basement gave off an eerie feel. "Creepy…" Nagisa commented. Mami's soul gem suddenly started giving off sparks, sensing some magical activity. "Come on, something's happening!" She started to run ahead, pulling Nagisa behind her, following the smoke.

Suddenly there was a rush of wind, and the smoke dispersed. Mami stopped, confused. "What just happened?" she asked, starting to step forward again, slowly. "Did they escape?"

As she turned the corner, she saw a brief flash of light as a girl appeared ahead, panting, seen to be wearing a school uniform when the light faded. She moved a little faster now, approaching the stranger. The blue-haired girl was beaten up, a few cuts and injuries on her face, yet the injuries seemed to be healing themselves rapidly. Kyubey was on her shoulder.

"Jeez, that was harder than I expected…" she muttered, not noticing Mami and Nagisa yet.

_"That was only a few. You will need to become a better fighter if you wish to survive,"_ Kyubey remarked, before noticing Mami and Nagisa without acknowledgement.

The girl soon noticed the two approaching. "Oh, hey, nothing to see here!" she quickly feigned, poorly attempting to act normal. Mami simply raised her soul gem, causing the girl to relax a bit. "Oh. You're a magical girl too?"

Mami gave a nod, smiling. "Indeed. I was expecting to track down a few wraiths here, but it looks like you've done a good job of finishing them off. I take it you also go to Mitakihara secondary school?" The girl just then noticed the similar uniform and gave a nod, as Mami continued, "I'm Mami Tomoe, a junior there, and this is Nagisa Momoe, my magical-girl student."

The girl raised her hand loosely with a wave. "Hi. I, uh, I'm Sayaka Miki." Nagisa suddenly stepped forward, giving a bow, squeaking, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sayaka Miki!" Sayaka rubbed her neck, a little put off by the formalities, prompting a giggle from Mami.

"Well... That's cool, I guess, didn't know there were other magical girls around here before me," Sayaka commented uneasily, unsure of how to respond. "Now there's two others, I see."

"I've been the primary magical girl for this city for the past few years, so this has largely been my territory. I'm somewhat a veteran. Nagisa's been under my care for about a week." Mami propped her fist up to her chin, thinking, before suggesting anything. "Maybe we'll wind up working together in the future."

Sayaka grinned a bit sheepishly. "I dunno if you'll want to work with me, I'm kinda bad at this… I'll just slow you down."

"Let Mami train you!" Nagisa butted in. "Mami trained Nagisa, she's really good!"

"Nagisa, don't interrupt," Mami mock-scolded, before looking back at Sayaka, with a sigh and a gentle smile. "Though, the offer's open, if you'd like. I wouldn't mind helping you at least get started."

"Eh, maybe. I might take you up on that offer," Sayaka commented. "I wanna sleep on it first. Think we can discuss it after school tomorrow?"

Mami gave a nod, pleased. "That's fine with me."

"Great, it's a date!" Sayaka exclaimed. Nagisa puffed out her cheeks a bit, annoyed with the word choice, taking a step backwards to move closer to Mami again. Sayaka didn't notice. "Well, see you guys tomorrow!" She turned to head back to the mall's surface.

Mami and Nagisa likewise headed home following their encounter, finding no more wraith trails that evening, leading to an uneventful, peaceful night. In honor of no further incidents, Mami pulled some ingredients from her cupboard once they got home, enlisting Nagisa's help to bake a cake.

With Mami's guidance, Nagisa was allowed to break the eggs and mix the batter, as Mami poured the batter evenly into the round pan, setting it into the oven to bake. She pulled out a few more ingredients, including cream, vanilla, and sugar to make the frosting, which Nagisa couldn't stop from sticking an occasional finger in to sneak a taste. When the cake was finished baking, the two gave it an even coating of frosting, as Mami cut some strawberries to decorate the top.

By the time they were finished, it was already late, yet the two set it out on the table with some tea, slicing it, eager to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Nagisa seemed particularly proud of the cake, herself, and was almost reluctant to take the first bite, though once she tasted it, she couldn't restrain herself.

It was light and sweet. Mami ate daintily, savoring each bite. When she was almost done, she noticed something amiss. She glanced over from her tea, her ears catching gentle sniffs. A cold? She looked towards Nagisa, noticing she had her head bowed down, occasionally inhaling sharply. From the sound of it, she was staving off sobs.

"Nagisa? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Nagisa didn't look up and didn't respond for a few seconds, opting to try and fight whatever was afflicting her, only to fail and finally mutter, "I miss my mom…"

Mami set her cup down, sliding closer to Nagisa to offer her an embrace. Nagisa weakly returned the gesture, tears finally flowing as she buried her face into Mami's shirt, sobbing fully, her tears staining Mami's uniform.

Mami began to stroke her hair gently, cooing softly to her. "It's okay, Nagisa…" she whispered. She could feel tears welling up in her own eyes, yet she fought hard to keep them from flowing, adamantly keeping her voice strong and stable. "I know how much you miss her… It's going to be okay." Her own memories of her family were returning to her. How her mother would help her with her hair in the morning, how she'd bake cakes with her father, how her mother would sing to her when she was little. "I promise it's going to be okay…"

Nagisa was still sobbing, a little more quietly now. Mami began to hum a tune gently, still gently stroking Nagisa's head.

_"Solti ola i..._

_amaliche cantia masa_

_estia…"_

Nagisa's sobs gradually faded, sleep finally having come for her as she nestled against Mami. Mami finished her tune, her voice still strong, yet the once-restrained tears managed to leave defined, wet lines down her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

Beams of sunlight began to creep across Nagisa's face, causing her to stir. Her head felt a little fuzzy, but she was so warm where she was at. She closed her eyes, trying to nestle in a little tighter, ignoring the sun, until realization dawned upon her.

She bolted upright. She was still in Mami's arms, who was laying across the pillows of her dining area, having fallen asleep shortly after eating. The cake from the night before was still out, as was a cold kettle of tea. She twisted around to grab Mami's shoulders, shaking her.

"Mami-san, get up! It's morning! We're going to be late!" she cried. Mami eventually stirred groggily, her mind not quite processing what Nagisa was saying for the first few moments. Finally the words began to sink in, becoming recognizable thoughts, which caused her to snap up, quickly getting to her feet with a shout, "I'm awake!" She could hear the faint buzzing of a morning alarm that had failed to be silenced coming from her room.

She glanced at the clock on her wall—only a few precious minutes were left to get ready and quickly get to school. She glanced at Nagisa, her expression communicating their directive. Immediately they cleared the table, Nagisa quickly stowing the cake in the fridge as Mami opted to reheat the remaining tea. They both then darted into the bedroom to get ready as best they could.

The two put on a fresh pair of clothes as fast as they could, Mami fortunately having a few spare school uniforms, Nagisa tossing on her pink, polka-dotted dress. Simultaneously they moved to the mirror. Nagisa began to brush the knots from her hair, as Mami inspected her own, noticing it had become slightly disheveled and her curls had fallen out. Instead of a brush, she raised a finger, a spark of magic flying to her hair, immediately curling it into her typical fashion, before gesturing to Nagisa as well, a spark flying out to straighten her hair and tie its edges into the small twintails she usually wore.

She glanced to her alarm clock—not long left. They would need to forego any further preparations. "Let's go!" Mami commanded, moving to head out the door. Nagisa hesitated briefly. "But Mami, I'm hungry!" she whined. Right, she still needed her lunch for that day. There fortunately were a few sandwiches in the fridge as well as a biscuits. She handed the biscuit off to Nagisa before packing two sandwiches into small containers, one with a juice box and the other with a thermos full of reheated tea. She took one box and handed the other to Nagisa. "Alright, got your books?" she asked, eyes glancing to the clock once more. Nagisa pulled her bag to her back, giving a nod. "Then let's get going, we'll need to hurry!"

The two had to run the entire way to their campuses, Mami pulling Nagisa behind her with one hand. Fortunately their stamina wasn't about to break any time soon, given their status as puella magi—they arrived just before Nagisa's bell rang. Mami gave Nagisa a quick pat on the head with a smile, before turning to head to her own campus. She felt a tug as Nagisa grabbed her arm before she could leave, pulling Mami down lower until she complied, insisting on a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Mami!" she called cheerily, separating as she ran off to her class. Mami blushed a little, giving a small smile before she recollected herself and departed, her steps feeling a little lighter.

* * *

><p>"Mami Tomoe?" The instructor would never look up while reading off names so long as there was a response, his plain, monotonous voice mechanically reading each name off his attendance sheet. "Mami Tomoe?" he asked again, eyes still not shifting.<p>

"Present—!" an exasperated Mami called, stepping into the class. It wasn't the run that tired her, it was the fear of being late. She quickly took a seat at her desk, sighing in relief.

Only then did her sensei look up. "You've never been late before…"

"Sorry, I—" she began, trying to figure out how to word her story, "I had to drop my sister off at the elementary school."

Her teacher didn't respond for a moment, before looking back at his sheet. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again." He resumed narrating the remaining names.

Mami slumped in her chair, feeling spent. "So is that who you've been walking with?" a sly voice questioned. Mami looked over, noticing one of her classmates leaning over to whisper to her. "I didn't know you had a sister. I've seen her, she's cute!"

"Yeah, she is," Mami responded, semi dis-interested. The girl immediately immediately began to dive into how she had her own sister. "I envy you, actually… Me and my sister don't get along at all. I've seen how you two meet up after school, it's so sweet. I wish I could get along like that with my sister. You two seem made for each other!"

The girl's ramblings became more and more incoherent and random to Mami as she started to tune them out, her mind replaying the hectic events and close-calls of that morning instead. As stressful as it had been, she couldn't help but smile as she recalled when she and Nagisa had departed earlier.

Lunch period couldn't have come sooner. Having skipped breakfast, Mami was starving, even if the sandwich would only do so much to sate her. She opted to eat on the roof, alone as usual, sitting on a bench and taking out her box. At least her tea would help pick her—

Nevermind that. She groaned, putting her hand to her forehead in frustration. Sitting next to her sandwich: a juice box, a tragedy of her haste. She could only speculate what Nagisa would be acting like under the effects of the caffeine.

"Stressful morning?" a new voice suddenly commented, releasing her from her lament. She bolted alert, noticing a tall girl with raven hair standing off to the side. She wore a red ribbon in her hair, tied to a bow over her left ear.

Mami tried to hide her frustrations behind a smile, "Eheh… A little," she replied, sheepishly. "You don't look like a junior, isn't your lunch period next?"

"Indeed, I'm supposedly seeing the nurse right now," the girl responded. "I actually came up here to see you, Mami Tomoe. My name is Akemi Homura. I'm a classmate of Sayaka's." She held up her left hand, showing the mark on her nail and her soul gem in the form of a ring on her finger. In her right, she was holding a suspicious silver cylinder.

Mami was a bit surprised; this girl seemed too confident to be new. Homura continued her explanation to alleviate some of her questions: "I only transferred here recently, which is why you haven't met me yet. I was curious to see if Sayaka would make a contract, introducing myself more formally to her once I noticed she had. You're planning on meeting with her tonight?"

Mami was suspicious, but gave a nod. "That's correct."

Homura raised her hand to brush it through her hair. Her expression wasn't cold—on the contrary, it was amiable, but it seemed aged, tired, and wise. "If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you. Simply to help if necessary. Having two students can get to be a handful, especially when one's so young."

"I assure you, Nagisa is very well-behaved," Mami said, sternly, before relaxing. Today had yet to cease being hectic, she couldn't deny that, but she smiled anyway. "Otherwise, Akemi-san, I'd be honored for you to join us… The more the merrier, right?" She pierced her juice box with her straw, taking a sip, immediately feeling a little childish for doing so.

Homura gave a small smile, before taking a step forward to place the cylinder down on the bench beside Mami. "You seem to need this more than I do. I'll see you later today." She turned to walk off. Mami looked to the cylinder—it was just a simple thermos, yet when she opted to open it, she could feel the sappy tears of gratitude come to her eyes as her nose caught the sweet aroma of camomile tea. She immediately poured herself a glass and took a much needed sip.

* * *

><p>"Please don't be mad, Mami, school was so boring today and my class kept bothering me and the teacher was boring and I couldn't sit still and—" Nagisa was more or less hysterical after class had gotten out, frantically defending herself from being issued a warning by her teacher. Apparently her behavior had been a little "hyperactive and disruptive" today. Mami was only smiling, lightly laughing to herself about the absurdity of the situation. "Also the teacher told me to give you this…"<p>

As to be expected, it was a note for Nagisa's "parents," scolding them for "giving their daughter caffeinated tea when she clearly can't handle it" as well as reprimanding her for not supplying a complete lunch. It was nothing to worry about. Mami folded the note roughly into her pocket to throw away later, before reassuring Nagisa with a small laugh, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble, it was my fault. At least now you know why I can't give you any tea!"

Nagisa hung her head, glancing to the side, quite embarrassed, before recalling: "Aren't we meeting Miki-san today?"

Mami nodded, "Correct. There's also another girl who will be joining us, we're going to meet them by the park." She turned to begin to lead Nagisa off, who quickly skipped forward to walk alongside. "Her name's Akemi Homura. She's a magical girl as well," Mami explained.

"Is she going to learn too? Is she nice?" Nagisa continued.

Was she nice? Mami couldn't help but feel oddly displaced by the girl. She had seemed friendly enough, but despite never having met her before, she also seemed oddly familiar… Something about her also rubbed her the wrong way. Or, she was just being overly paranoid because there was someone present who might be as skilled as her. She shook her suspicions aside, finally answering, "She seems nice enough. She's just going to be there to watch."

Nagisa had begun to skip slightly. "Maybe she's just wants friends?" she asked, more indirectly. That was something Mami hadn't considered. It was possible.

The sun was preparing to start its descent by the time the two arrived at the park. Homura was sitting on a bench as Sayaka was loosely meandering about impatiently. As soon as she saw Mami and Nagisa approaching, she pivoted on her heel to face the two. "'Bout time you two got here! Was starting to wonder if you had forgotten," she said with a grin.

"Sorry I'm late," Mami apologized as Homura rose from her bench to stand off to Sayaka's side. Nagisa was staring at her, at least until the violet eyes met her own. Despite the small, complacent smile on Homura's face, Nagisa withdrew slightly, moving closer to Mami's side. Mami turned to look at her, a little confused, "Nagisa, don't be rude…"

"It's fine. She's just shy," Homura answered, stepping forward and bending down slightly to put herself eye-level to Nagisa. "Your name is Nagisa?" she asked, patiently. Nagisa gave a small nod. "You can call me Homura, okay? Let's both do our best." Her soft smile reassured Nagisa, causing her to pull herself out from behind Mami as she returned the expression, albeit a little more ecstatically. Homura's pleasant demeanour wasn't unwelcome, yet Mami could see she was hiding something. Not something malicious: those calm eyes seemed to be suppressing a long history of pain.

She felt sorry for her. She didn't even know this girl, yet there was something familiar and mystical about her that caused her to feel an empathetic pain..

"So, what's the plan?" Sayaka interrupted, breaking any contemplative trains of thought. Homura rose back to her feet as Mami announced, "Well, I'll start from where I started Nagisa off. I'll show you how to track wraiths, and then we can see how you fare in combat against them." She suddenly felt a tug at her sleeve; she looked down at Nagisa, who whispered something inaudible. Mami gave a hushed whisper in response, "I know, I am too, we'll make this quick tonight so we can eat."

Mami procured her soul gem and began to explain the process of tracing to Sayaka, also detailing the likely locations for wraiths to attack. "As you know, they generally fight in groups, so you must not let yourself get overwhelmed. If you can fight them one-by-one, you probably won't ever run into trouble. As my student, I'll let you suggest where—"

"If I might make a suggestion instead," Homura interrupted, "I believe there were traces of activity collecting towards the south side of town." The other three turned to look at Homura quizzically. "It was faint when I noticed it at first, but I'd suggest we search around there and see if it's formed into something more threatening."

The south side of town was indeed a likely place for wraiths to attack, considering its proximity to the harbor and factories where accidents were frequent. It wasn't far from a more lively block that was also known for its frequent barfights. Sayaka glanced from Homura to Mami and shrugged. "I guess that's worth a try."

Mami was uncertain about trusting the raven-haired girl. "Alright, we'll head to the shopping center near the harbor and start making our way through the streets. This is likely to be more dangerous than I would've liked for a first trip, but if you're correct it's not something we can just ignore."

A loud, rumbling squelch of a hungry stomach suddenly interrupted any further thoughts, as Nagisa's face turned red with a frown. Mami sighed, smiling slightly.

* * *

><p>The gloom of the miasma clouded the air with an aura of unrest over downtown, a harbinger of wraiths to come, darkening the sky for those who could see its effect. The four had averted the attention of any stragglers in the street, their gloomy appearances mimicking the posture of the wraiths, before coming to the edge of the fog.<p>

"Looks like you were right, Homura," Mami commended. She held her soul gem in front of her, rays of light radiating from it to pierce, but ultimately be lost within the fog. She looked behind her, noting the disposition of the other girls. Each held a unique expression of determination—Homura's calm eyes were stoic, Nagisa was eager, and Sayaka triumphant, either to save face to try and impress Mami, or to convince herself of her abilities.

Mami met their gazes, reassured, and turned to take point. She stepped into the fog, with the others immediately following behind her, immersing themselves int he world of the wraiths. It was nauseatingly dark, yet even in the black, Mami's gem shown brightly as she raised it above her head, spinning it around her as ribbons and light lashed out around her body, taking form in a display as her attire materialized in place of her uniform. The others' soon followed suit, donning their magical attire with, to Mami's disappointment, less frivolity, their weapons at the ready: Nagisa's horn in her hand, Sayaka bearing a blade, and Homura equipped with a black bow.

The spike in magical energies drew the attention of the wraiths in the area. A fast, small horde of three quickly took note, and began to close in, groaning eerily. Mami spoke quickly, a rifle spawning in her hands: "Wraiths are drawn to magical energies. The more you use, the more you'll attract." She took aim and fired, downing her target with a single shot. She turned her rifle to grab its barrel, spinning to knock the nearest down. Nagisa rolled over her, striking downwards, using her horn like a club to disable the wraith, before raising it to her lips to let a blast strike the third at near point blank.

"Fighting covertly may often be safer, but when wraiths are hiding or feeding, being aggressive can help draw them out." More demons appeared around the corner, larger this time, advancing more slowly. Mami looked back to Sayaka and Homura. Sayaka gave a nod of understanding, while Homura's rest her fingers on the string of her bow.

The four engaged, Sayaka darting forward to slash at the first wraith, her blade slicing at its form. Struck, but not stopped, it raised a bony limb to strike back at Sayaka, only for an arrow to pierce its hand. Sayaka thrusted again before drawing her blade upwards, attempting to cleave the wraith in two. Its form held together letting out a groan, as Nagisa slid under Sayaka and gave another blast of her horn, the stream of sparks and bubbles igniting against the demon's form and obliterating what remained.

A second was immediately behind the first, ready to pounce on the two, yet before it could move it was struck with an extra large bolt—a combined attack by Mami and Homura, their weapons temporarily merging into a crossbow. The bolt pierced its chest, threading a ribbon through where its heart would be located if it were a human, as the two veterans gave a pull. Sayaka and Nagisa wasted no time to strike upwards, flipping the wraith through the air towards the two, as Mami and Homura delivered a simultaneous powerful kick, their boots piercing and shattering its 'face.'

"Good work!" Mami commended. The four moved back to back as more wraiths began to encircle the group warily.

"What are they doing?" Sayaka asked, her cocky demeanor from moments before beginning to wane.

Homura seemed to relax her posture a bit, almost responding dismissively, "They're looking for an opening." She ran her hand through her hair once. The wraiths mistook her change in stance for a lowered guard, all opting to attack at once in an attempt to overwhelm the girls. "Tomoe-san, give us your ribbons. Now."

Mami hesitated only for a moment to process to the command, and quickly cast some ribbons from her sleeve around the wrists of her friends. Sayaka and Nagisa grew tense, anxious to defend against the attack. They moved to attack and defend, pausing as they noticed Mami's ribbons coiling around their wrists.

Homura held her hand forward as a disk-shaped insignia hovered over her soul gem like a hologram. The rune turned ninety degrees, giving off a popping click as its delicate form of light sputtered, and suddenly all the wraiths froze, inches from the group. Homura looked back at the others, "If you let go of Tomoe-san's ribbons, time will stop for you as well. Now, let's finish this."

It took the others a moment to realize what had happened, but once they realized the advantage they had, the four unleashed a flurry of attacks, from acoustic, bubbled blasts to thrown swords to gunfire to a volley of arrows. The projectiles froze in space just inches from the girls, until Homura waved her hand once more, the insignia once again appearing. Time resumed, and the wraiths, once believing they were taking advantage of an opening, now found themselves destroyed in a fearsome counterattack.

The cumulative destruction of the wraiths in the area brought a shock-wave down around the girls who stood un-phased. The blast did its part to clear the area of the miasma, returning the girls to the normal world, as several curses dropped down around their feat. Nagisa scooped them up and proudly delivered them to Mami, who was admiring Homura's ability. "That was impressive. Your magic is truly fearsome," she complimented. Homura accepted the compliment with a slight smile. They shared the spoils and proceeded to make use of the curse fragments in purifying their soul gems, just as the eerie red eyes of the Incubator peered out at them from out of the shadows, eager to collect.

_"Impressive. Your collaborative work seemed to cumulatively use less magic than if you each had fought alone. Normally magical girls don't get along so easily."_ He perked his ears up as they tossed the expended curses his way, as he caught them via the insignia on his back.

"Some people just have natural chemistry," Homura commented as the miasma faded away. She retired her magical girl uniform first, as Kyubey glanced expressionlessly at her.

_"That is true. However, another matter has been brought to my attention: Even though you are a magical girl, I do not believe I have met you before,"_ he commented, prompting a confused glance from Mami.

"How is that even possible? Aren't you the only one who can contract with a girl?" Mami asked him.

Homura looked back at her with a soft smile and reassured her, "It's not too much of a concern. He wouldn't be able to remember, and it's a long story otherwise. I'd rather save it for another time."

Kyubey seemed satisfied with that response, though it aroused suspicions in Mami and Sayaka. Nagisa was too distracted with her stomach to pay heed of Homura's enigmatic nature, instead giving Mami a tug on her sleeve. "Can we go eat now?" she pleaded.

Mami sighed, dismissing her thoughts. "Yes, let's. Sayaka, Homura, would you two like to come to my place for something to eat?"

Sayaka grinned and promptly responded with a, "Definitely!" though Homura politely refused. "I'm afraid I have some personal matters to attend to. I'll see you three later." She turned to head off, denying Mami a chance to discern more of her past. Before she could let her suspicions foster again, Nagisa was already tugging her forward, urging them back home with Sayaka right behind.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, how'd you two start fighting together?" Sayaka asked between bites of cake, having already commented on its deliciousness.

A few days had passed since the first wraith hunt, allowing the girls to get settled into a routine. Homura would accompany them half the time, though still had yet to reveal much of her history. With her once again absent this evening, Mami opted to divulge some of her own, as per Sayaka's request. "I was hunting wraiths by the hospital and stumbled across Nagisa there," she began.

The topic was a little tender and uncomfortable to talk about, yet Nagisa continued when Mami had paused, "My mom was really sick and after I made my wish and realized I made a mistake I kinda… gave up. Mami found me and didn't let me, though."

"What happened to your-" Sayaka was about to ask, though Mami's gaze answered her question wordlessly. "...Oh… I see, sorry to hear that, Nagisa…"

Nagisa fidgeted uneasily. "Thank you..." she murmured solemnly.

Sayaka decided to change the subject. "So was Nagisa the first time you fought with another puella magi?"

Mami shook her head. "I've attempted to fight alongside others in the past, yet most insisted on going their separate ways almost immediately after…" She took a sip of tea, letting brief memories and faces she never had a chance to get attached to pass through her mind, a subconscious attempt to distract herself from another story. She set her cup down, realizing there was one face she couldn't forget, and looked to Sayaka, hoping maybe she'd be able to find some personal closure. "Though, there was one person in particular who I got close to before we ultimately parted..." she began, hesitating.

"It was over a year ago… After we first met, it was actually her idea for us to stick together. She wanted me to train her, much like I've done for Nagisa and am now doing for you." She paused, before resuming, a nostalgic but saddened tone to her voice. "Her name was Kyouko Sakura. I was convinced she and I shared the same selfless ideals... Her father was a minister at a church, and she even invited me to eat with them over the holidays. It was the first time I've felt like I belonged to a family since I became a magical girl."

"What happened to her?" Sayaka asked. "She's still alive, right?"

"She was when we parted. I'm sure she still is today, she was tough. A horrible accident happened one night, however. From what I found out, a fire burned down her father's church, taking her family with it." She shuddered. "Or… I wish it had been an accident. From what I heard about it over the news, they believed it was a forced multiple suicide."

She hesitated, her words sinking in. "I rushed out to try and find her, and was lucky I did. It was in the middle of winter, she would've frozen to death if I hadn't found her."

"Why'd she leave, though?" Nagisa asked, the story compelling enough to cause her to completely forget about the pieces of cake remaining on her plate.

"She blamed herself and her wish for her family's death. It was clear something fundamental broke inside her. Her fighting became more desperate, she grew mad at me, feeling like I was supporting her out of charity. She started questioning the ideals I thought we shared… just like all other girls I've met." Mami's voice grew quiet and distant as she gave a heavy sigh. "She said she never even really saw us as 'friends'... I should've expected such." Her eyes failed to meet anyone else's, merely staring longingly into her cup, halfheartedly expecting to find an answer to a question she couldn't quite phrase. She suddenly became aware of her posture and snapped alert. "Sorry-!" She quickly tried to recompose herself before finding Nagisa leaning over to give her a hug.

"Mami gets really lonely over it sometimes," Nagisa explained, half-teasing, half-trying to lighten the situation. Mami gave her a disapprovingly playful glare, but returned the hug anyway.

Sayaka offered a comforting smile. "I dunno much about Kyouko, but I can promise: nothing's gonna make me give up on my ideals. I'll fight for what's right no matter what!" She made a confident fist. "As long as you stand by those ideals, nothing's going to stop me from standing there with you."

Mami gave a sighing laugh. "Alright, you two have made your points." She placed her hand on Nagisa's head, stroking through her hair warmly. Nagisa let a small yawn escape, her eyelids beginning to droop with the soothing passes of Mami's hand. "A few weeks ago I was totally by myself… To think that in such a short time I could be surrounded in warmth from such close friends. It feels like a dream..." As she hesitated, she opted to take a passing glance at the clock. "My, it's getting late… Nagisa needs to get to bed soon. And Sayaka, you have homework to do still, do you not?"

Sayaka blinked and stammered. "Well, I mean… uh…"

"You mustn't make excuses for yourself," Mami interjected. "Sometimes justice means destroying wraiths and collecting curses, sometimes it means doing long division."

Sayaka groaned. "Oh come on! Isn't protecting the city more important?"

"The city's important, but so is your mind. In fact, that reminds me, starting tomorrow we're going to begin researching and studying wraith behavior and magic." Mami reached under the table to her bag, pulling out a notebook and opening it to a random page. Runes and notes relevant to the powers of a mahou shoujo were scrawled throughout. "You need to be at the top of your game not only physically, but mentally as well to truly be a powerful puella magi."

Sayaka groaned once more, prompting a giggle from Nagisa at her misfortune, which likewise prompted a glare from Sayaka.

"Hey, at least I don't have a set bedtime," she commented snidely.

"You'd want to be in bed right now if you didn't have homework!" Nagisa teased back. Sayaka huffed once more, yielding to Nagisa as the victor.

Mami laughed lightly and began collecting the used dishware to put in the sink. "Be careful on your way home, Sayaka," she advised.

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka dismissed. She grabbed her bag and headed out the door, not before turning briefly, "See you guys tomorrow!"

* * *

><p>Homura hadn't been seen for the past few days outside of in Sayaka's homeroom. As usual, sometimes she would join the others on a wraith hunt, other times she would go alone, though as of late she had been particularly absent. Sayaka was unable to coax any answers from her, though Mami began to just accept it as part of enigmatic nature, and gradually questioned it less and less. It was another element of her recent shift in her life's routine, which while certainly not unwelcome, was serving to distract her slightly from school studies, resulting in her falling behind on a class project.<p>

"Sayaka, do you think you could watch Nagisa for me today?" she asked her friend in the hall one day between classes. "I need to stay after school today to get caught up on a project."

"Tch," Sayaka stifled a small, sarcastic giggle. "What happened to not making excuses? Don't tell me now Mamisan's shirking off her studies!"

Mami blinked, frowning very slightly. "Sayaka… Please, it's almost finals week." Her eyes were tired. It was suddenly apparent how late she had been staying up after their wraith hunts, and, for all of her resolve, how much this class was taking out of her.

"I'm just teasing!" Sayaka exclaimed, before donning a sheepish expression. "Right, sorry, that was kinda mean… You definitely deserve a break, I'll take care of her."

"Thank you," Mami sighed, relieved. "Sorry it's so sudden, she shouldn't give you any trouble."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Nagsia can practically take care of herself. It's not a big deal at all. I'm always happy to help my mentor," Sayaka answered. "I'll just take her to the park or something."

The bell for next period rang before any further discussion could be offered. The two bade one another goodbye before parting. Mami sat down in her next class, letting another sigh escape. Once this day was done she wouldn't have to worry about any major school assignments until finals week. She just had to get through today with her sanity in tact.

Despite nearly dozing off a few times, the last few hours seemed to go by relatively quickly. Mami soon found herself in the school's library as everyone else was leaving to head home. She took a seat at a table and promptly buried her nose in her textbook. Before long the only sound within audible earshot was the scraping of her pencil on her notes. Gradually, her mind became more and more enveloped in her studies, until finally she was all but totally lost in them. Before she could be fully immersed, something internally alerted to her surroundings once more. Nothing physically had occurred, yet for whatever reason her focus was broken. She paused her writing and sat up. There were two other students in other corners of the library, and no one else. It was odd: for the first time in weeks, she was totally alone, not even amongst apathetic peers. In that short time the sensation had become totally alien.

At first, she didn't know if it was oddly relaxing or not. Her mind began to wander, teasing unsettling thoughts. She suppressed a shudder. Where had Homura been running off to? Did Sayaka remember to pick up Nagisa? What if she forgot, and Nagisa was lost? What if Nagisa stumbled across a miasma on her own? The silence and solitude quickly revealed to be distressing.

She shook her head, attempting to shed the thoughts. She hovered over her notes again, ready to write, yet she could feel her heartbeat and hear her breaths.

Why was she so nervous? She forced herself to put her pencil to the paper. As she pushed herself, her heartbeat steadied. The bad thoughts gradually began to leave her in peace, at least partially, and she was able to resume working. Even alone, she had to believe in the mask of resolve she normally put on for the sake of her students.

She turned a page in her textbook to another wall of text, and sighed. She hoped Nagisa was behaving for Sayaka. The two were probably at the park right now, and most likely were not getting into trouble.

There was no way they could have crossed paths with a wraith or a rogue magical girl. That was just paranoia.

They. Were totally. Fine.

...She could feel her heart pounding in her ears again. The mental half-hearted reassurances weren't working.

She closed her textbook and groaned. Fine, she was mostly finished, she could get the rest done tonight. She didn't need to impress anyone at the moment, what she needed was to be with her friends. She packed her bags and stood up, letting her worries get the better of her, as she turned to head out of the library.

Upon exiting its doors and entering the courtyard, she noticed something amiss. Nagisa was in the middle of the courtyard, intimidated by the school buildings, but still scouring the campus for Mami. She immediately came running as Mami stepped outside.

"Nagisa? I thought you were—" Mami began.

"Sayaka's in trouble!" Nagisa shouted, immediately grabbing Mami's hand and yanking her along.

Mami blinked, hesitating. "Wraiths?"

"No!" Nagisa exclaimed, leading Mami by her hand. "It's Kyouko!"

* * *

><p>"Mami's not like you!" Sayaka's voice reverberated down the corridors of an alleyway. "You don't care about anyone but yourself!" The sounds of magic and metal soon followed, as the heroic voice proclaimed: <em>"Magical girls like you are no match for magical girls like us!"<em>

There was a sound of metal clanging and crashing. "I don't get it," a sharp voice retorted. "Fighting for someone else's sake… The hell do you think you're doing? Did your precious senpai teach you all that crap?" The sounds of rattling chains soon followed, as did a loud crash and a yell from Sayaka. "That pisses me off..." The voice was suddenly bitter in the middle of a pause. The sound of a spear scraping along the ground hailed Mami's and Nagisa's arrival._"That REALLY pisses me off!"_ Kyouko Sakura was advancing, spear drawn, upon Sayaka, who was staggering below a broken water pipe.

An impatient click of a flintlock stopped Kyouko from taking another step. Mami's musket was cocked and pointed right at the red-head's back.

"Sakura-san, that's rather rude of you." Mami said assertively, her stern eyes suppressing a powerful yet controlled fury. "Leaving your territory just to attack one of my students? Just what has gotten into you?"

Kyouko hesitated before responding. "Tch… I'd've thought you'd've kicked the bucket by now…" She turned her head slightly to glare arrogantly at Mami out of the corner of her eye with a taunting smirk. "Instead you're wasting your time adopting lost little puppies. Guess it makes sense you of all people would need a pet or two."

"I am not a puppy!" Nagisa shouted from behind Mami, who had to raise a hand slightly to quiet her.

Kyouko turned a little more, opting to say something more hurtful before noticing how young Nagisa was. The pause gave Mami a chance to reassert herself: "I don't know why you're here, Kyouko, but if you ever threaten either of my kouhais again I will not hesitate to open fire."

Kyouko shifted her stance, glancing behind herself at Sayaka, who was rising back to her feet. The busted water line above her had left her partially soaked. "Tch… You've got enough on your hands for now." She twisted her spear around once to extend it. "Just wouldn't be fair for you if I took you on when you're having to carry two block-heads. I'm out of here." She planted her spear into the ground to start a vault. "I've gotta meet someone anyway." Kyouko took a leap to the wall, rebounded off it, and within mere seconds she was gone. Mami sighed and lowered her musket as Nagisa ran over to help Sayaka up.

The rifle's metal exterior soon transmuted back into delicate yellow ribbon as it unwound and dematerialized into the air. Meeting someone? That might explain why the transfer student had been oddly absent as of late. She could feel distrust welling up in her again. "Are you alright, Sayaka?" she asked.

Sayaka shook herself off. She was bruised a bit but was largely unharmed. "Yeah, fine… The hell was her problem?"

"How did you wind up fighting her?" Mami immediately questioned. Sayaka was slightly taken off guard.

"Well, she… Came out of nowhere. Starting talking bad about you, and then about me and Nagisa," she responded, choosing her words carefully. "And when I stood up for us, she got mad and attacked."

"Why were you in the alley, Sayaka? I thought you said you'd be at the park." Mami looked to Nagisa for some confirmation. She immediately gave the whole story:

"Sayaka thought she felt a miasma coming so she wanted to stop it while it was small but Kyouko was in the alley to stop us. She told us to let the miasma grow a little bit first, else it'd be a waste of energy. She then asked if we knew you, and after we said we did Sayaka called her selfish for how she had left you," Nagisa blurted out, before sheepishly shuffling her stance. "Then she got mad and attacked."

Mami sighed as Sayaka tensed up, fearing reprimand. To her surprise, Mami's response was only melancholy: "I guess it couldn't've been helped."

"What do you mean?" Sayaka asked.

Mami shook her head. "I'm too tired to explain right now…. Was Homura in class today?"

"No. Absent again." Sayaka suddenly recalled Kyouko's parting words. "You don't think-?"

"I hope not... Still, I wonder why Kyouko has returned," Mami idled her words, starting to think aloud. Of course her students wouldn't have an answer. She crossed her arms with another sigh. "I still have some work to finish… Would you mind if we postponed our meeting for today? You could use some rest yourself."

Sayaka gave a nod as the two discarded their magical girl attires. "Right… I'll see you tomorrow, Mami." She turned to head off. Nagisa meanwhile stepped towards Mami and took her hand, hugging her arm gently. Slightly taken aback, Mami soon smiled, the affection more than welcome after a stressful day. The two began to walk home.

* * *

><p>A small, simple dinner preceded an early bedtime for Nagisa, leaving Mami to finish up the last page of her assignment within the comfort of her own home. She had changed out of her uniform and let her hair down, and was now seated at her desk with a simple nightgown and shawl, laptop and textbook open before her. In the middle of typing the last paragraph, the soft patter of padded feet behind her disrupted her concentration. She looked back to see Kyubey approaching her from the center of the room.<p>

"Oh, hello Kyubey, I haven't seen you in a while," she commented, before reverting her gaze to her laptop. Almost done...

_"Indeed. I am curious as to what your plans are for Sakura Kyouko, so I felt I should come over and ask,"_ he commented telepathically.

"So, you've heard about the fight earlier…" She slid her hands away from her keyboard. "I need to find out what she wants, first…" And then what? For as violent and acidic as Kyouko had been that day, she still couldn't bring herself to come to blows. She just wanted to be left alone with her students.

_"Do you plan to fight her if need be?"_Kyubey continued.

"Only if absolutely necessary… I'd rather her just keep to herself. I won't hesitate to defend myself and my students, however." Mami turned in her chair to face the Incubator. "Something else has been bothering me. Do you know the whereabouts of Akemi Homura?"

Kyubey tilted his head slightly. _"From what I have witnessed she appears to have been working with Sakura Kyouko as of late."_ So her suspicions were right. _"Why do you ask?"_

Mami turned back to her computer, thinking. If Homura was working with Kyouko, would that make her an enemy? She gave a contemplative sigh. "I'm convinced Kyouko still hates me. Yet, every part of me wants to believe she's not a lost cause."

"Even if she were to rejoin you as an ally, and even with maximum synergy in collecting curses, there likely would not be enough wraiths to sustain all five of you." Kyubey hopped up on the desk and stretched. "Granted, her mere presence in the city is enough to present a similar risk, though she may just be here temporarily. I cannot see why she would give up her territory. The best course of action for you both would be for her to leave."

Kyubey scratched behind his ear a little, expecting a pet or two from Mami. She didn't oblige. "I don't want her to leave again… It's probably wishful thinking, but I'd do anything for her to soften up to her old self." She put a hand to her forehead to rub her temple, thinking. "I need to find out what she and Homura are up to, first." She looked back at her screen. The final paragraph just needed two more sentences. With a momentary pause, she temporarily set aside her thoughts as a conclusion clicked in her mind, and she typed the assignment into completion. She saved the assignment, shut down her computer, and stored it with her notebook in her bag. "It's late, Kyubey, I need to sleep."

_"Very well. I suppose we'll simply see what happens,"_his emotionless voice responded, yet something in the context of his voice held an ominous undertone. After today, however, Mami was too emotionally spent to worry any further. She walked into the bedroom, Nagisa rolling over on her futon as Mami entered. The second her head hit the pillow she was lost to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Gray skies forewarned of rain the next day. After a breakfast of toast and eggs, Mami wrapped Nagisa in an orange poncho and grabbed her own coat before leading the way out the door. The overcast sky had left the earth cool and the air brisk despite being in the middle of spring. It was refreshing, if not a bit nippy.

She dropped Nagisa off by the primary school and parted with a quick hug, Nagisa insisting on quickly kissing her cheek. Mami's own classes went by relatively quickly, finally at ease after turning in her report. The rest of the school year promised to go by smoothly with that satiated, leaving her mind free to focus on more immediate matters. One of those was Homura: she hoped Sayaka had remembered to investigate what she could herself.

She and Sayaka met for lunch on the roof as usual, both opening their bento boxes. "Was Homura in class today?" Mami asked, almost immediately, prior to eating.

Sayaka nodded between a bite of chicken. "Yeah. She agreed to come up here. I'm holding her to it."

Before long, Mami's box was nearly empty, with just a few grains of rice remaining and still no sign of Homura. She poured herself another cup of tea from her thermos as Sayaka fidgeted impatiently, before both suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. Despite the air of distrust, it was somewhat relieving to see the raven-haired girl once more.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I decided to eat by myself so I could finish up some homework."

"It's quite alright, Akemi-san," Mami assured, before taking a sip of tea. No, it wasn't alright. There were matters to discuss. She set her cup down. "Actually, Kyubey's told me you've been working with Kyouko. Is this true?"

Sayaka glanced to Mami, mouthing, "I knew it," before turning back to Homura. Homura's neutral expression didn't change, though she did pause. "It is. I've been traveling to Kazamino every now and then. I've been worried that we don't have enough wraiths and curses here to sustain all of us. I ran into her there and we opted to work together. Why do you ask?"

"Did you know she's an asshole!?" Sayaka blurted out.

Homura didn't flinch. "Yes." The matter-of-fact tone took both the girls off guard. She didn't follow up to try and defend herself or Kyouko.

Mami coughed, breaking the silence. "Did you know she appeared here yesterday?"

"That would explain why she's been asking about you lately," Homura said, running her hand through her hair once.

This got Mami's attention. "What do you mean?"

She didn't answer. "I take it Sayaka and Kyouko had a conflict the other day?" Sayaka slowly gave a nod, prompting a sigh from Homura. "Some things never change…"

Mami had finished her tea and was putting away her box and thermos. "You're speaking like you've known her for a long time," she commented, a hint of irritability in her voice.

"You could say I have. She wouldn't know it, though." Again, Homura was utilizing mysterious rhetoric. Sayaka glared at her. The frustration she and Mami shared was almost tangible, yet both were caught off guard by what she said next. "I'm sorry," she suddenly apologized.

Mami was on her feet once more. The clouds overhead were growing darker. "For what?" she asked.

"For not being more trustworthy, and for Kyouko's behavior the other day." Homura's head hung down ever so slightly, her eyes solemn.

Sayaka rose to her feet as well, her voice suddenly a bit more understanding. "Why're you apologizing for her? She's not your responsibility."

"All the same, I should have guessed she'd come looking after asking about you so much, Tomoe-san. I feel like I'm partially to blame for not taking her to you myself." Homura raised her head once more, though still carried a somber expression. "Tomorrow's a day off, isn't it? Would you mind coming to the park around noon? I'd like a chance to correct this mistake."

Before she could provide an answer, thunder rumbled in the distance, and a few sudden drops of rain rapidly turned into a respectable storm. Eating outside probably wasn't the best idea today—the girls turned to head back indoors. Once in the halls, Mami sighed before responding to the prior question: "Admittedly I haven't had a lot of reason to trust you lately." Homura's expression didn't noticeably change, though Sayaka caught a glimpse of her eye twitching ever so slightly, as if she was hurt. "…but I can't see a reason that you'd be lying to me, in this case."

"My only intent is to arrange a meeting between you and Sakura-san, I can assure you." Homura ran her hand through her hair again, this time trying to dry it some from the rain. "I expect you want closure as much as she does."

Mami didn't answer, but gave an affirmative nod. Sayaka stifled a groan, shifting uncomfortably. "While they're meeting tomorrow, Sayaka, would you mind accompanying me on a wraith hunt?" Homura asked her.

This got Sayaka's attention, making her pivot to face Homura more directly. She couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at being offered to hunt with another veteran, even if that veteran was Homura. "You still make me uneasy, but if Mami's going to trust you, then I guess I will too. Just…" she hesitated, "Just don't try anything tomorrow."

Homura smiled reassuringly. Her mouth only curved slightly, yet the emotion was communicated largely through her eyes, patient yet satisfied. "Given the weather, I'm going to hunt by myself this evening, so I won't see you two until tomorrow," she commented. "Otherwise it's time we get to class." As if on cue, the bell for next period chimed. The three parted and headed to their classrooms.

* * *

><p>Rain fell for the remainder of the day, even through the last period without any sign of relenting. Fortunately Mami had remembered to bring an umbrella with her, anticipating the storm. As soon as class dismissed, her umbrella saw use as she made her way back to the elementary school. Nagisa knew to wait inside until she got there.<p>

Yet when she arrived, Nagisa was out in the courtyard already with a few other students either waiting for their parents or simply enjoying themselves, playing in the rain and splashing in puddles. "Nagisa!" Mami called out. Nagisa quickly perked up and ran to the shelter of Mami's umbrella, hugging her waist giddily. "Nagisa, it's raining. You're going to catch a cold if you're not careful."

Nagisa rolled her eyes before taking Mami's hand and walking with her. After walking half a block, she asked, "Did you ever find out what Akemi-san was doing with Kyouko?"

Mami nodded. "Yes. She's actually arranged a meeting—" she cut herself short, pausing. "How did you know about her and Kyouko? Were you eavesdropping last night?"

Nagisa shuffled in her steps and averted her gaze sheepishly. "Uh… maybe?"

Now Mami rolled her eyes, but she continued. "Kyouko and I will supposedly be meeting tomorrow in the park, with Akemi-san's help."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Nagisa asked, before giving another sniffle. Her nose was slightly red.

"Not fully… but it's a chance to work things out." Mami looked down to Nagisa. "I warned you about catching a cold!"

Nagisa gave an over-dramatic sigh, mocking Mami's overprotectiveness, before snapping alert with an idea. "I'll just use magic to get rid of it!" she declared, before beaming confidently back up at Mami.

Mami smiled back, teasing the child's overconfidence, before looking forward once more. The rain had lightened up by the time they arrived back at Mami's apartment, becoming a gently tapping on the windowsill as they stepped inside.

The two hung up their coats as Mami, being the tea-addict that she was, immediately put on a pot of hot water. Nagisa sat down on a cushion by the coffee table, going through her backpack's belongings. "Are we gonna practice today or anything?" she asked, taking out a small notebook.

"Not while you have a cold," Mami said, taking out some spices and mixes, as well as some baking ingredients for later. Nagisa groaned, and opted to open her notebook. Rather than notes, it was filled mostly with doodles and scribbles. She pulled out a pencil and began to add more.

Before long, Mami soon walked over and set two cups on the table, taking a seat on the cushion next to Nagisa. She picked up one cup already filled with tea. "It's chilly today, so I figured I'd make you something special to help with your cold." Nagisa took the other cup, noting a cinnamon and chocolate scent, with a few marshmallows floating on the surface. The scent alone prompted her to abandon caution as she quickly took a sip, only to yelp as she burned her tongue. "H-hot!"

Mami giggled, "Yes, there's a reason it's called 'hot' chocolate!" Nagisa tried again, taking another, more careful sip. Her whole body felt warmed by the drink as she smiled, pleased. She shifted over a little to lean against Mami, who was enjoying her tea. She wasn't tired, yet the scent of her drink, the tapping of rain, and the comfort of Mami's presence lulled her into an absolute state of relaxation.

"How's your soul gem?" Mami asked ambiently. Nagisa sat up and held out her left hand as the ring on her finger re-formed into her gem, a pale indigo hue. Mami set her cup on the table and inspected the gem, holding Nagisa's hand steady. "A little dull, but still fairly clean. We'll have to make sure we go hunting tomorrow."

"Why not tonight?" Nagisa asked.

"Because it's raining and as I said, you have a cold. The others can handle any miasmas tonight." She hugged Nagisa, who stifled a squeak in response. "Plus, I'd rather just spend the evening with you," she said playfully, smiling, before murmuring, "I'm sorry I've been so busy lately."

Nagisa quickly returned the hug, leaning into Mami. "What about what Kyubey was saying, about us running out of wraiths to fight?" Nagisa looked up to Mami. "What happens if we run out of magic?"

The importance of cleansing one's soul gem had always been implied, though Mami realized she had never told Nagisa much beyond that. She brushed her hand through Nagisa's hair. "I think Kyubey was just being overly concerned. If it does get to be an issue, there's a neighboring town that wouldn't be too difficult to cover as well, if Kyouko allows it." Nagisa withdrew her arms but continued leaning on Mami, reaching for her cup of cocoa again. Mami took out her own gem to observe it—likewise, it wasn't clouded, but it wasn't glowing either. "Naturally you want to keep your soul gem clean… If it becomes too polluted with grief, we don't exactly die, but we become one with the Law of the Cycle."

"What's that?" Nagisa asked, taking another sip.

It was admittedly hard to explain. "Well, it's a principle if anything. Our soul gems vanish before they can start to curse the world themselves, and we vanish with them. The Cycle ferries us to the afterlife." She hoped that was a complete enough explanation.

Nagisa looked ahead, staring at nothing in particular. She could tell that even Mami didn't know all the answers, but she felt she understood. After a moment more of silence, Mami took notice of Nagisa's sketchbook and opted to open it. She let out an amused giggle. "You're quite the artist, Nagisa!" The child blushed but couldn't hide a smile of pride.

Most of the drawings were of Mami and Nagisa, as well as a few of the other girls and Kyubey. In some, they were gathered around Mami's coffee table, in others they had brandished their weapons. One doodle that made Mami giggle was of Nagisa and Sayaka fighting a dragon to rescue her from a castle tower. She flipped to another page. Curiously, Mami noted that some of the drawings seemed more methodical and less artistic. "Nagisa, what're these drawings of?" She pointed to a few symbols with arrows and lines connecting them, as well as some words scribbled off to the side.

"Um… I remember how you and Akemi-san combined attacks," she began, sheepishly. "It was really cool! So I've been trying to think of some attacks that we can do as well. Though everything I've come up with has been dumb…"

Mami immediately shook her head. "These aren't dumb at all!" Some of Nagisa's notes were on how to work with Sayaka and Homura, but most of course were related to Mami. Admittedly, a lot of the ideas were strained, especially since Nagisa had yet to come up with any significant special attacks of her own.

"They're dumb cause they won't work," Nagisa stated, disappointed. She set her cup down, now empty.

Mami set the book back on the table and hugged Nagisa tightly. "Most ideas don't work right away. You have to keep trying though." She pulled back slightly. "And with many things, you won't know if they work until you try them!" Mami reassured her with a smile.

Nagisa looked away, mumbling, barely audible, "I don't want to embarrass myself in front of you, though…"

Mami sighed. "Oh, Nagisa…" She reached around and embraced Nagisa fully, stroking her hair once more. Nagisa returned the hug, resting her head on Mami's shoulder. "You've learned so much since we met, and have helped me through so much more. Nothing you could do would ever be embarrassing." She squeezed her gently.

Nagisa's voice was trembling slightly. "Even if I make mistakes?"

"Mistakes are just a chance to grow," Mami reassured her. "I couldn't be prouder of you."

A sniff escaped Nagisa again. Mami pulled her back some. "Oh, right, I had forgotten about your cold," she began.

Nagisa shook her head, rubbing her eye. "That wasn't a cold." She put her hands in her lap and beamed. Mami returned the expression before looking at the notebook once more.

The next page had drawings of other magical girls. None of them were recognizable. Some had staves, swords, one had an axe. "Who are these?" Mami asked. One in particular caught her eye—a girl with two pigtails done up with bows, wearing a wide skirt and carrying a bow made from a rose branch.

"I kinda thought, what if there's other magical girls out there? What if they wanted to fight with us and be our friends, like Sayaka and Homura?" She began to get a little excited as her imagination took hold. "It would be so cool to have an army of magical girls fighting off an army of monsters! All with different kinds of magic—" she began to point out her drawings, going over her ideas of what said girls might be like with admirable optimism. "It'd be like a war but we wouldn't be able to lose!" Mami entertained her enthusiasm. As fantastic as the musings were, more friends and allies would always be welcome.

Who knew? Maybe Nagisa's ideas had some basis.

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

The awkward greeting had followed a more awkward arrival. Nagisa was down by the lake, feeding the ducks, while Mami Tomoe waited on a bench nearby. Kyouko Sakura had arrived moments earlier, but had failed to say anything for quite some time, causing the two to stiffly stare at one another for a few minutes.

The sky was still gray, though the air was much more windy than yesterday. Fortunately it appeared the rain had exhausted itself last night. Mami had a light coat to brace herself against the chill, while Kyouko had a fur-lined hoodie. "Hello, Sakura-san," Mami responded, unsure whether to be cautious or welcoming.

"Look, uh… I…" Kyouko stumbled over her words before losing them. The awkward silence continued.

"Have you been eating well?" Mami asked out of the blue. This caught Kyouko off guard, but broke the silence well enough. "Have you been getting enough fiber and protein? You need to make sure you're getting the nutrition a growing girl—"

"I've been eating fine," Kyouko asserted hotly. "Jeez, I'm starting to think I should've stayed back in Kazamino."

"I'm just worried for you, is all," Mami stated calmly, before sighing and smiling. "It's good to see you again."

"Eh…" Kyouko responded noncommittally. Mami was unsure if she was to take offense. "What do you mean, 'eh'?" she inquired.

"It's just… I mean, after what happened a few days ago, I dunno if I believe you on that." Kyouko turned in her stance to look away slightly, kicking a foot and putting her hands in her pockets. "I kinda acted like a jerk."

"Maybe, though my student wasn't faultless either," Mami assured her. "Why did you come back here?"

Kyouko removed her hands from her pockets to fold them behind her head, her back to Mami. "I dunno. I guess Homura just mentioned she knew you. Was kinda surprised to hear you were still alive so I wanted to see for myself."

"Oh…" Mami wasn't sure what answer she had been expecting. "Was that all?"

Kyouko turned to look at Mami from the side. "What's with the kid, by the way? Hell, are you so desperate for company that you need to take two people under your wing?"

It felt like a backhanded insult, causing Mami's eye to twitch, yet she remained in control of her emotions. "You likely wouldn't be alive today had I not helped train you. I've just offered them the same thing."

"Ah, so they're to replace me." Kyouko's voice suddenly grew very somber. "I get it." She turned away again.

Mami rose to her feet, raising her voice as well. " Nobody's replacing you—You left me, Kyouko."

Kyouko gave a sigh, but didn't turn to face her. "I'm just gonna go. This was a waste of time. Sorry for screwing with your students."

"No!" Mami shouted at her, stepping forward and grabbing her arm. "Don't leave again! I want answers!"

"Answers to what?" Kyouko demanded, turning to face her.

All of Mami's questions came at once, rapidly. "Why did you come here? What's your problem with my students? What did you mean when you said I wasn't your friend? How have you been surviving without your magic?"

At the last question, Kyouko angrily shook Mami off of her, her gaze quickly changing to a glare. "Seriously? You think I'm some god-damn charity case?! That I can't take care of myself!?"

"That's not—"

"I get what's going on. How I get by is none of your damn business. I don't need you to lead me around by the nose, especially when you take whoever will listen to you. You just want more power and more control! It's never enough for—" she stopped suddenly and glanced back. Nagisa was standing behind her, fuming and trembling.

"Stop saying things about Mami that aren't true!" Nagisa shouted. "You think you know her but you don't!"

"The hell you talkin' about, kid? I've known her longer than you," the redhead retorted, acid in her voice.

"Then stop saying lies about her!" Nagisa shoved her in response. She staggered backwards, grappling between letting the attack slide given Nagisa's age and teaching her not to pick a fight with a stranger. As she got a better look, she noticed there were tears in Nagisa's eyes. While her face was foreign to Kyouko, her demeanour seemed chillingly familiar. The angry little voice was almost pleading now. "Just stop being mean… Mami needs you so she can be happy…"

"Nagisa—" Mami began, though Kyouko let out a loud, frustrated groan, interrupting any statements as well as any creeping memories of her family. She shook her head to clear her mind and walked around to the bench to sit down, putting her face in her hands. Mami and Nagisa watched her intently.

"I don't deserve to be with someone like you," she muttered after a moment's pause. "I'm too shitty of a person."

Mami took a step closer to sit on the bench next to her. "That's not true, though." She had placed a bag below the bench earlier, which she retrieved now. She pulled a container from her bag and opened it. "Nagisa and I made some cookies last night, if you want any."

Not one to refuse free food, Kyouko accepted two. Nagisa cautiously approached and sat on the other side of Mami, taking a cookie as well.

"I know you're a good person, Kyouko, or at least you can be," Mami pleaded. "Please, come back. You can be on the side of justice once more."

"You make it seem like it's 'us versus them,'" Kyouko said, finishing her first cookie and looking down. "Like there's a clear good-guy way and bad-guy way to do things. I don't see it like that. I don't see my way as better than yours. I agree with mine more, but it's just different." She didn't turn her head, but shifted her eyes to look at Mami. "I don't think it's my place to mess with someone else's fate. Even with good intentions, it usually only makes things worse."

"I see…" Mami yielded, disappointed. "I suppose I have no choice but to respect that…"

Kyouko rose to her feet and began to walk off, putting her other cookie to her mouth to take a bite. "Heh, hey, if what the kid was saying was true, I'm at least glad I'm needed by you," she remarked, cockily and sarcastically, before taking on a more somber tone. "I'll stay out of your way… Sorry this didn't work out," she muttered before turning forward again and resuming her exit. She didn't look back.

Once she was gone, Mami let out a disheartened sigh, putting her hands to her face. Nagisa leaned against her comfortingly as she leaned back, sitting in silence, letting the chill of the air cool her overworking mind. She soon collected herself and sat up, letting Nagisa take another cookie from the container before closing and stowing it once more.


	6. Chapter 6

The shadow of a miasma soon found itself fading away to the pale light of the evening moon. Homura and Sayaka had done a good job of cleaning up the city earlier that day, while Mami had been meeting with Kyouko. Perhaps too good: it had made the process of finding a miasma for her and Nagisa to hunt rather difficult. The one they finally chanced across that evening had been relatively small, leaving slim pickings. Killing the wraiths almost felt more like a chore than an undertaken risk.

As the fog cleared, a small voice became more audible. "You said we could try them out, though!" Nagisa argued, continuing a rant that evidently had started mid-battle.

"I know I did, but that group was too small. It would've been a waste," Mami responded.

"You and I never get to hunt alone anymore, it would've been the perfect time to try it!" Nagisa continued, her face contorting into a betrayed frown. "You said we were gonna try combining attacks this time!"

"Nagisa," Mami declared with sudden authority. "Magic isn't something we can just capriciously use." The child blinked amidst her ranting, confused. Mami sighed, putting a hand to her forehead before switching out the word. "...something we can just _randomly_ use. We can experiment more freely when we're not so short on curses. To waste time on a mob that small, however, would either be a waste of time or a waste of magic, depending on if it was successful or not."

Nagisa turned away, still fuming and upset over what she saw as a perfect opportunity for practice, refusing to understand what Mami told her. The two began walking back home, dismissing their magical attire, though Nagisa refused to look at her mentor for the remainder of the walk.

Ultimately the silence got the better of Mami. "How long are you going to go not talking to me?" she asked. Nagisa turned her head away wordlessly. Mami sighed, too tired and disheartened to make any further attempts at conversation.

Their arrival home was followed by the routine process of preparing a small meal and tea, with Nagisa working on some drawings or homework while she waited for food. Mami soon set their plates down on the table and took a seat. Nagisa sat across from her, not looking up from her own meal, eating in silence.

Mami however decided to try once more, "So, how was your day at school?"

Nagisa slurped some noodles and hesitated before responding. "Okay."

"Anything exciting happen in class?" Mami asked after a sip of tea.

"No," Nagisa mumbled as she picked at her noodles some with a chopstick.

The silence between them returned for a while until both their meals were mostly done. "I'm really trying my best," Mami sleepily commented out of the blue. Nagisa looked up at her, finally daring to make eye contact, yet Mami was staring off into space, one arm propping up her head. "I'm sorry we haven't had any time together… I really am. I know you were looking forward to practice, but with how things have been, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you, or if we ran out of magic…"

Her words were a little aimless and rambling. "Maybe I'm just being overprotective… I'm trying to play the part of your sister, mother, teacher, and friend all at once… I haven't been doing a very good job. After all you've gone through, you deserve someone better than me." There were traces of tears in her eyes. Nagisa suddenly was overwhelmed with guilt.

A sudden knock at the door interrupted any further comments. Mami looked over, recomposing herself. "Come in, it's unlocked."

Sayaka stepped inside, setting her books by the door. "Hey guys, hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"We were just finishing dinner is all; you're just in time for some cake, Miki-san," Mami cheerily mused. Nagisa stood up at that time, taking her empty plate to the sink. As she came back with an extra teacup for Sayaka, she took the seat next to Mami as normal, relinquishing her former spot to the guest.

Mami poured Sayaka some tea as Sayaka chanced to ask, "So, how'd the meeting with Kyouko go?"

"Not as well as I hoped," Mami sighed. "I did a good job of angering her."

"Well, she's an angry person," Sayaka retorted before any other thoughts could be expressed. "You should just–"

"Forget her?" Mami interrupted, a grave tone to her voice suggesting Sayaka was making a mistake. "Sayaka, I spent an entire year with her. I have saved her life on multiple occasions, as she did for me. I understand you don't like her, but please show a bit of respect."

Sayaka, too sheepish to say anything more out of fear of being disrespectful, took a nervous sip of tea.

"Did you know she doesn't use her magic to fight?" Mami asked.

This caught Sayaka's attention again. "How does that even work?"

Mami took a sip of tea, taking a bit of third-party pride. "She's just that skilled. When we were together, I taught her how to use her magic. After our time apart, she learned how to be just as dangerous without it."

"Why, though?" Sayaka asked, intrigued.

Mami shrugged. "It'd certainly save on magic use. You'd probably have to ask her yourself, next time she's in the area." Sayaka mumbled something offensive but unintelligible, prompting a smirk from Mami. "How'd your training with Homura go?"

"She is _weird_," Sayaka began. "She taught me a little bit more about my magic, but she kept going off on how important the law of the cycle is, and how important it is that we protect this world."

"Well, that _is_ something important," Mami interjected, getting up to get the cake out of the fridge.

"No, I mean, the way she said it. It felt like it was on someone else's behalf." Mami set the round cake on the table, prompting a hungry gaze from Nagisa, and refilled Sayaka's teacup. "I dunno. I'm convinced now she's not a bad person at all, but still… she's just weird."

Mami served everyone up a slice of cake. "Well, it sounds like you two did well today. How are things going with Kyousuke?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Eh, fine… He's been a bit distant since returning to school," Sayaka began, taking a bite of cake. "Kinda my fault as well, I've been so busy with being a magical girl I've barely been able to talk to him."

Mami let out a small chuckle. "You'd best confess to him soon, lest someone snatches him away from you!"

"Hah, c'mon, I'm his childhood friend, that couldn't happen," Sayaka assured, though it felt more like she was reassuring herself.

Nagisa remained quiet and finished her cake as the two spoke for half an hour more. Sayaka had only planned to stop by for a short visit, considering how late it was, and soon was grabbing her bags and bidding farewell.

After showing her to the door, Mami returned to the coffee table and took a seat next to Nagisa once more, finishing what tea she had left. Nagisa finally spoke.

"Sorry for acting so spoiled earlier…" she mumbled. Mami turned her head to acknowledge the apology, though was still slightly surprised by it. Nagisa suddenly embraced her, burying her face into a shoulder.

Mami was slightly taken aback, but soon set her cup down and returned the embrace. "I don't care if you think I deserve someone else," Nagisa muttered behind some sniffles. "I don't want someone else. I just want Mami." She looked up, pulling back from the hug slightly. "You're the one who deserves someone better…"

Mami smiled and resumed the hug, embracing Nagisa warmly. "Well, I wouldn't have anyone other than Nagisa-chan, either." She began to run her fingers through Nagisa's hair. "It's late, we should get you to bed if you want to have enough energy for practice tomorrow." Nagisa suddenly perked up, pulling back some, excited. "After lunch with everyone else, we'll head out early before hunting so we have some time to ourselves. Just you and me."

The child lunged forward to hug Mami tightly. "Thank you, Mami!" she cried, giving Mami a kiss before running to the bedroom to scramble into her pajamas and get into bed.

Mami gave a content sigh and cleared the table before heading to bed herself.

* * *

><p>The following day was once again a day off from school. Mami, Nagisa, Sayaka, and Homura all had made prior plans to meet for lunch earlier that week, and now were gathered around a table at a local cafe at the mall. Nagisa had brought her sketchbook with her to doodle while the adults were talking. Sayaka was going on about Kyousuke.<p>

"Did you know he started playing violin when he was four? And he also knew how to play guitar and cello before the accident," she chatted, idly. The others humored her interest.

"I think I remember hearing about the guitar," Homura said, taking a sip of her coffee. The interest was feigned, but her tempered demeanour hid that fact very well from Sayaka.

Mami folded her hands. "So, have you talked to him yet?" she pressured.

Sayaka shook her head. "C'mon, you just asked me that last night! I'll talk to him when I'm ready…"

"Wouldn't want to rush yourself," Homura agreed.

Suddenly remembering something, Sayaka took out her phone to check the time. "Oh right, almost forgot, I was supposed to meet Hitomi today… I'll see you guys later tonight." She grabbed her bags and headed off.

As she left, Homura turned to Mami, "Actually, I'll be absent tonight."

"Heading to Kazamino again?" Mami asked.

Homura nodded. "I realized we may have overextended last night. Hope it wasn't too much trouble for you two." She looked over to Nagisa, who paused in her drawing to acknowledge Homura. Below her pencil was a drawing of the girl with the pigtails and wide skirt.

Homura did a double take at the drawing. "It wasn't too much trouble," Mami assured her, not noticing her interest in the drawing.

Nagisa noticed Homura's eyes, however, and commented innocently. "What?"

Homura recomposed herself. "Would you mind if I saw your sketchbook?" she asked. Nagisa, curious, slowly slid the book over. Homura turned it around to look at the drawing. Her normally calm face seemed a little stunned.

"What is it?" Nagisa asked. Homura shook her head and reached up to wipe her eye before a tear could form.

"This drawing just reminds me of someone," she said, handing the sketchbook back to Nagisa and smiling. Mami remained silent, observing. There were no words for a while, until Homura realized she had started a topic that she had been avoiding all this time. "I had a friend a long time ago. She was the original reason I became a magical girl… I wouldn't be alive today if not for her." She took another sip of her coffee before proceeding.

"Madoka was her name. Selfless was her nature. Eventually she made a sacrifice, the consequences of which are too difficult to describe." She raised a hand to her hair to feel the ribbon tied in a bow over her ear, smiling nostalgically. "If anyone believed it was wrong to have hope, she would tell them they were wrong, every time. Before we parted one last time, she gave me these ribbons as a promise that we'd soon meet again. As long as I have them, that is my hope."

Nagisa was quiet and somber, mouth slightly open with interest. She almost whispered, "She… died?"

Homura became a little more alert, and shook her head. "Not quite…She did cease to be, however. It's difficult to explain…" Her hesitation implied her uncertainty in proceeding. It was clear she had put thought before into sharing her story, yet she had no reason to hide anymore. "Every trace of her has been removed from this world, past, present, and future. If not for her, things would be very different for us puella magi, though no one other than myself remembers or knows why. I continue so that I might honor her wish."

"How do you remember, though, Akemi-san?" Mami suddenly interjected, trying not to be confrontational. "It's not that I don't believe you, and I understand you have time magic, but how can you be sure of the validity of your own memories?"

Homura hesitated. It wasn't often that a distraught look chanced across her face. She had considered that notion before, but hearing it aloud still had some unnerving impact on her mind. She felt the ugly beginnings of doubt. "She's telling the truth though." Nagisa suddenly broke the silence. Her gaze was fixed on Homura, unchanging as she spoke. The two older girls looked to her for more explanation. "I don't know how I know… It's just something I feel. Don't doubt yourself, Akemi-san."

Homura blinked before relaxing, and offered Nagisa an understanding smile. "You can just call meHomura," she offered. She had originally introduced herself as such, yet formalities had prevented full adoption of her first name.

"Well, don't doubt yourself, Homura-chan!" Nagisa repeated reassuringly, leaning in, finally comfortable with forgoing formality.

Homura gave a nod, before getting to her feet. "Thank you… However, I'd best be going now if I want to get to Kazamino before the sun starts to set. Tomoe-san–"

"Just call me Mami," she interrupted amiably.

Homura paused, before continuing with a smile as a response to what was taken as a declaration of trust. "...Mami-san, I'm sorry that things didn't go well for you and Kyouko the other day. But, do not give up hope."

She turned to leave, her black hair trailing whimsically behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

One of the main suspension bridges in Mitakihara had a small alcove far below its roads, making for a perfect hideaway out of sight from common citizens. The paths near the bases of the supports were mostly used for engineering maintenance, though they were almost always unoccupied. Mami and Nagisa walked across the surface, about an hour before they were to meet with Sayaka elsewhere in the city. For now, Mami was intending to stick to her promise.

The two were already in their enchanted attires, as Mami began going over the more technical details of specialty attacks. "You already know your magic will be strongest in areas related to your wish, but at the same time you can still manipulate your magic into almost any form you wish, especially with practice."

Nagisa nodded. That much she knew, yet she patiently listened on.

"One way to experiment is to start with something you're familiar with and manipulate it from there. Special attacks often exaggerate or capitalize on one aspect that you're familiar with." Mami took a few steps to the edge of the pier before turning to face Nagisa. She folded her arms and smiled but didn't speak, her posture urging Nagisa to demonstrate her abilities.

Nagisa shuffled a little uneasily at first, drawing her trumpet from her soul gem. "Just visualize what you want to do," Mami reassured. She gave a wave of her arm as a ribbon danced out from her wrist, coiling around itself into the shape of a mannequin. Nagisa concentrated, then raised her trumpet upwards and blew.

A strange, colorful form coiled out of her trumpet, snaking through the air. Its surface appeared to be made of the bubbles that normally came from Nagisa's trumpet, yet it undulated like a giant, formless caterpillar, its insides pulsing and sparkling with magic. Mami had never seen the phenomena before, yet remained calm. The snake twisted in the air before slamming down on top of the target. Suddenly, the form tightened, and sucked itself–and the ribbons–back into Nagisa's trumpet.

It didn't look like Nagisa had been expecting the recoil, as her lips were still towards the trumpet. She let out a small, surprised burp, covering her mouth with a small blush. "Um… Sorry," she said sheepishly. "That tasted like cheese."

Mami let out a giggle. "I should've guessed your appetite would've inspired an attack!"

"I thought about that a long time ago… I just haven't had a chance to try it," Nagisa explained. "I'm surprised it worked."

"Try it again," Mami insisted, creating several more targets. "See how it fairs against multiple opponents."

Nagisa nodded, once again raising her trumpet. The figure spawned once again, taking a slightly more distinct shape now, the magic inside its bubble skin a little more stable. It snaked through the air briefly before dragging across the ground, producing what looked like a mouth, as it charged the ribbon targets. It only managed to devour three simultaneously before retreating back to Nagisa, leaving two more standing.

"Hrm… best not to overexert yourself for the time being, since we still have work to do later, but I wouldn't doubt with a bit of practice you could use that to quickly dispatch a lot of foes," Mami mused, dismissing the remaining targets.

"Can you show me how combining attacks works?" Nagisa suddenly interjected eagerly.

Mami took a few steps closer to Nagisa. "It's going to be different for every magical girl combo. You need to both be visualizing the same attack. I've only had a few opportunities to combine attacks myself, and in most cases they had to be fairly obvious to work."

"But what about you and Homura?" Nagisa asked. "You two worked well together even though we just met her."

"True, but again it was a fairly obvious combination," Mami asserted. "We haven't had much of a reason to use the telepathy that's come with our contracts, but it actually comes in handy at times. As we executed the move, we had to share our thoughts to make it work."

Nagisa admittedly was a little nervous about the prospect of telepathy. She had known about it, yet the only time it had been used around her was when Kyubey was nearby. She was worried about accidentally transmitting unwanted thoughts, especially anything embarrassing to Mami. That aside, the prospect of embracing someone else's mind was intimidating.

"So, would you like to try?" Mami suddenly asked. Nagisa flinched at the opportunity. She didn't know what would work; she didn't want to make a blunder. Yet, something in her head told her to relax. _You won't be judged for learning,_ a voice seemed to say, though she couldn't tell if Mami was speaking through her mind, or if she was simply reassuring herself subconsciously.

She gave a nod and went to stand beside Mami as the two both faced the bay. Mami allowed a moment's concentration to help Nagisa formalize what she wanted to do. "Picture it in your head, and allow me to see it," she invited. Gradually, a contraption began to mentally form, inspired by Mami's signature move, _tiro finale_.

Their minds ushering them to act synchronously, the two each raised a hand, each holding a tool, Nagisa bearing her trumpet, Mami casting out a ribbon. As they lowered their arms, the ribbon whipped forward, simultaneously as Nagisa's trumpet began to glow, the two twisting to stand back to back. The ribbon coiled around the trumpet, changing the white light to yellow, as suddenly there was a magical pop. The trumpet expanded, its flange forming into a long, silver barrel, and its lead pipe reshaping and splitting into two large wheels. The light quickly faded, leaving the two with a decorative howitzer between them, both their hands on a firing lever.

Nagisa was eager to pull the trigger, and promptly did so, yet the spark wouldn't ignite without a similar action from Mami. "I'm not sure if it'd be a good idea to fire this just yet," she commented, pointing above. The soft roar of traffic was suddenly more evident. "It'd be better not to draw attention. That aside, it needs a name first!"

Nagisa relaxed her handling of the firing mechanism, equal parts disappointed and satisfied. On one hand, the attack appeared successful; on the other, Mami was right, they had nothing to shoot at and didn't want to draw attention. She allowed Mami to dismiss the weapon, her own trumpet popping back into her hands as the cannon dissipated.

"We'll see how it fires later," Mami promised. "We should get a chance to–" Her voice trailed off as she noticed Kyubey curiously approaching from behind. Something felt ominous about his presence and the urgency in his approach. "Hello Kyubey," she greeted, somewhat awkwardly.

"_Mami, come quickly!" _he insisted. _"Miki Sayaka is about to make a critical mistake!"_

* * *

><p>There was a walkway forming a bridge over one of the more busy highways in a central part of the city. That was where Kyubey led Mami and Nagisa, where they saw Sayaka peering over the edge of the catwalk. She didn't move much, staring at the traffic as it passed underneath, holding her soul gem in front of her.<p>

Kyubey hopped up on the railing, but as the girls approached, he kept his distance. Sayaka appeared fine, at least for now. Mami stepped forward patiently, trying to assess the situation, relieved that she was safe. "Sayaka, is something wrong?"

Sayaka barely acknowledged Mami's presence. She tilted her head down slightly, muttering. "I'm not cut out for this…"

"What do you mean?" Mami asked.

Sayaka suddenly bolted alert, as if she hadn't noticed Mami before. "Oh. Hey…" she said ambiently.

"Sayaka, what's wrong? What are you doing out here by yourself?" Mami asked once more. Sayaka seem to sway slightly, as if she were suddenly unstable.

"Hey, Mami…" she muttered. "What would you think if we were to… stop working together?"

Mami froze, feeling a chill course through her blood. Sayaka barely seemed to notice her distress. "Not that I don't like working with you… It's just…"

"Stop it, Sayaka," Mami insisted. "What's getting into you? Just stop." She realized she had started to tremble. History couldn't be repeating itself. Sayaka was sick. That was why she was making such outlandish statements. She wasn't going to leave. She had to stay. Mami couldn't bear to lose another student.

Sayaka turned her head down, averting her gaze shamefully. Her eyes were as grave as her soul gem was dull. "Y'know… Being a magical girl was a mistake in the first place," she muttered, raising her soul gem once more to examine it. Black spots were beginning to form around it. "Maybe Kyouko was right. Maybe my wish was worthless."

"That's not true!" Nagisa shouted. "What about Kamijou–"

"What about him?" Sayaka retorted darkly. "I fixed his arm. Nothing more. He doesn't owe me anything for that. What kind of defender of justice would I be for thinking otherwise?"

"What are you talking about?" Mami demanded. "Did something happen with Kyousuke?" This girl was sick. She couldn't leave. She needed help. It was Mami's duty to save her.

"Yet here I am, thinking otherwise anyway," Sayaka continued, starting to block out any protests. "If I keep this going I'm just going to hurt someone. I even let the thought of hurting Hitomi go through my mind… What kind of magical girl am I to think that?" She looked at Mami, though it was if her eyes didn't recognize her friend. "I just want to go back," she pleaded. "I'm sorry, Mami…"

"_You need to stop her!"_ Kyubey called to a distraught Mami. At that moment, however, Sayaka dismissively released her soul gem, allowing it to fall from the bridge.

"I'll just–" Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock momentarily before her body went limp. She collapsed on the bridge as Nagisa stifled a scream, covering her mouth. Mami ran over to the body and knelt down.

She put her fingers to Sayaka's throat, searching for a pulse. "She's… dead?!" she gasped, causing Nagisa to tremble. She turned her head to glance at Kyubey for answers. "What happened to her?!"

"_This almost never happens. It's such a waste…" _he commented, a faint sense of irritation present in the otherwise neutral voice. _"I figured you would have determined the details by now, based on your understanding of the phenomena known as the 'Law of the Cycle.'"_ Kyubey began to explain. _"To put it simply, the furthest you girls are capable of controlling your bodies is about 100 meters." _

Mami stared at him, evidently more confused than before. He continued to elaborate. _"In the process of contracting, to enhance your magical abilities and protect your essence, I remove your soul from your body and place it into a compact form."_ Almost instinctively, Mami placed her hand over her ring, unsettled by the revelation.

"How… why…" she barely whispered, stunned, averting her gaze back to Sayaka. She was still knelt down over the body, though had she been standing, the weakness in her knees surely would have caused her to fall.

"_Things like this rarely occur as you usually keep your soul gems on you at all times, so I can understand why Sayaka may have underestimated the significance of her soul gem."_

"Sayaka, you have to get up!" Nagisa shrieked, moving to Sayaka's body, ignoring the incubator's explanation. "Please!"

Kyubey let out a sigh, a rarity from the normally emotionless creature. "_That's not Sayaka. That's merely her body. Sayaka is somewhere on the highway right now, hopefully still in-tact."_

Amidst her anxiety, Mami felt a spark of anger. She rose up and pivoted on her heal to procure a flintlock pistol from her soul gem. She pointed it at Kyubey, tears in her eyes as she shouted, "How could you do something like that to us!? How could you betray our trust!?"

"_I provide information when requested. You simply had never requested any details. Though, more importantly," _Kyubey paused, looking out to the highway, _"I sense Sayaka's soul gem is still in-tact. It would be a shame to let her energy go to waste."_

Mami's wrath paused momentarily, allowing her to collect herself as she ran to the railing to scan the highway. There was no immediate sign of Sayaka's soul gem anywhere. Had it landed in a car or truck? She moved to hop over the railing to start searching, yet a voice stopped her. "Wait here." She glanced back, seeing Homura briefly land on the catwalk behind her. She held her hand out, a rune dancing beneath her feet briefly, before her magic activated and she disappeared from sight.

She stepped back from the railing, the revelations still fresh in her mind. She turned to Kyubey again. "Are we just cattle to you!?" she demanded, raising her pistol once more at him.

"_Does this process not make sense?" _the incubator asked, unflinching. _"I never understood the attachment you humans have to your souls. Wouldn't you rather have them in a form that enhances your power and is easier to take care of?"_

"Even if I would, I'd prefer to know about it beforehand!" Mami cried. Her heart was storming with fear, grief, and rage. Her pistol shook violently in unsteady hands.

"_If your body is ever damaged, as your soul is now separate, you can be spared the full extent of its pain. Via magic, you can even recover from nearly any injury as long as your soul gem is fine," _Kyubey continued. _"Do you not see the advantage to that?"_

Mami's grip on her gun quivered as she slowly lowered it. She placed one hand on her head as she fell to her knees, trying to gain a handle on her emotions that the incubator would never be able to comprehend. She could feel tears in her eyes and weakness in her heart, and in spite of her recent history, she once more felt indescribably alone.

She didn't notice the light footsteps behind her until a sudden breath caught her attention. As she turned, she saw Homura standing over Sayaka, who was now holding her soul gem in her hand. Wearily, Sayaka began to reanimate and sit up, assisted by Nagisa.

"What… what happened?" she asked wearily. Mami got to her feet to face Sayaka, drying her eyes. Nagisa, relieved, clung to Sayaka immediately in a sobbing hug. Mami, overcoming her shock, soon stepped forward and followed suit.

Sayaka didn't respond, scarcely aware of what had happened. She didn't attempt any further protests, though whether that was due to realization of her actions or simple exhaustion was unknown.

As the reunion ended, Mami rose to her feet, forced to dry her eyes once more. She turned to Homura. "Thank you," she said, folding her hands and leaning forward with a small bow.

"That's not the first time I've had to do that," Homura commented, oddly unphased by the event.

"Hey…" Sayaka suddenly interjected, looking over to Homura. Her voice was groggy and rude. "What are you doing here anyway? Weren't you going to that other town?"

It was rather suspicious that Homura was present. "Kyouko insisted upon finishing early," she began, turning to Mami. "She wanted to return here to see how you were fairing with your students, strictly to observe. When you weren't at the meeting location, she insisted on looking for you." She glanced off into the distance, looking up at a nearby tower. On its ledge a red figure was vaguely visible, watching from afar.

Mami took note of the watcher and let out a small sigh, still trying to calm her mind. _She was worried about me?_ "That was very fortunate… Again, I can't thank you enough," she repeated, before looking back to Sayaka, folding her arms in a minor attempt to hug herself to recuperate from the recent events. "I had best take her home…"

"Let me see your soul gem," Homura suddenly insisted. Mami hesitated, taken off guard by the sudden request, but complied, transmuting her ring into its natural form in her palm. Her gem was very dim, with swirling black etches crawling over its surface, tainted by the recent trauma. Homura gave a nod, indicating she had seen enough. "I understand Sayaka is your student, but allow me to take her home. You and Nagisa cannot afford to miss another hunt."

"Are you sure?" Mami asked. "I'll be fine. Sayaka needs–"

"Nagisa needs you as well," Homura insisted, her eyes scanning the child who was shifting back to Mami's side. "I will guarantee Sayaka's safe return. You need to take care of Nagisa and yourself; I'd rather not anyone's lives go to waste."

"_She is correct,"_ Kyubey sprung up, moving to approach again. _"Your soul gem will not last much longer in its current state. All that energy in–"_

"If you wish to spare the energy of your own body, Incubator, I'd suggest you silence yourself," Homura commanded icily, not even giving Kyubey the courtesy of a gaze. Kyubey, after hesitating, wordlessly turned and walked off.

After he was gone, she continued: "I would suggest not allowing the incubator's words to phase you. It doesn't understand emotion, and there's not much that can be done about our situation other than come to terms with it." Homura's sense of compassion was rational, strange, and subtle, but Mami understood and while she was once intimidated by it, was now oddly humbled. Homura gave her hair another flick; her expression and voice were somewhat cold, but her words were warm and honest. "'I want to survive.' That was your wish, wasn't it? Then continue to do so, not just for your sake but for the sake of those around you."

She reached a hand out to Sayaka to help her up, which was promptly refused, Sayaka either too proud to receive help, or still distrusting of Homura. Nonetheless, Mami complied, giving a final affirmative nod to Sayaka and Homura before the group parted once more for the night.

She remembered she still had a promise to keep.


	8. Chapter 8

School the next morning was fairly somber. Lunch had yet to start, and Mami was preoccupying herself with notes that distractingly were not related to the lecture. Her mind was still restless, and the inability to detect Sayaka or Homura on the campus was grating at her nerves. She had hoped they would still show up but a rational mindset was warning her otherwise.

The night prior had included a successful wraith hunt, yet unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's perspective), Mami and her student had missed an opportunity to attempt a combined attack. Surprisingly it had been Nagisa's suggestion that they wait with testing the attack until their conditions improved, which was a stark change in tone from her attitude prior to that night.

As Mami idled in class, she looked at her ring. She couldn't help but feel as if she was starting to get careless. Even the child was capable of seeing that she had been in no condition to waste magic on showmanship. Nonetheless, she looked back to her notes, where various Italian phrases were crossed out, and a rough drawing of the howitzer was visible.

"_Sonata… Scoppio?"_ she mused to herself, writing another name. She tapped her pencil to her chin, wondering what Nagisa would think, or if she'd care about the names at all. For the time being that was all she would be able to write. The bell signaled a period change. She closed her notebook to stow it under her arm and headed to the roof.

She had hoped for some company during lunch, but sadly she was disappointed. With a sigh she sat herself on the bench and pulled out her lunch, idly picking at her food. She hadn't bothered to put her notebook in her bag, hoping to use it as a distraction just in case, as predicted, no one was present. She flipped through old notes.

Mami had never realized how long she had kept her notebooks, and how condensed they were. Some of the notes were over a year and a half old. She took a quiet bite out of a rice ball and flipped through the pages.

At the top of one was the phrase _"Rosso Phantasmo."_ It took a few seconds for the phrase to trigger her memory. Her eating paused as she set the book down, wanting to turn the page yet unable to do so, staring at the notes that were from a past life with her first student.

Kyouko never did bother to master that attack, and with her change in fighting style it was unlikely she'd ever revisit it. Why Mami felt obligated to care at this point was unknown to her. Her lunch was only half eaten, and likely would stay that way. She set her box down at her side dismissively, glancing again at her notes.

There was total silence, leaving a troubled mind free to wander. Sayaka had almost died last night. It was unlikely that the group would not see any further troubles; it was just a question of when one would actually affect them. Magical girls typically didn't live long. Last night served as a reminder that, despite recently becoming acquainted with her new life, it was probable that it would not last, and could be shattered in an instant.

The worst part about her musings was that, unlike a few days prior when she was panicking in the library, she knew these were not irrational fears.

She prayed Sayaka was fine. Homura was responsible, she would take care of her. Still, Mami much rather would have had either of them present with her. Just someone to talk to, to help alleviate fears. And then she criticized herself for even daring to think so selfishly.

She crossed her arms, hugging herself, and stared down at her feet. She was afraid. She had always been afraid, ever since she had started her new life. The fear had always persisted, even through her warmest moments, but the friends she had made had become a sign of something more important than fear, something that could quell it or at least help her ignore it. And, at least for the time being, they were absent.

She could feel warm tears starting to escape out of the corners of her eyes when she blinked, prompting her to hug herself tighter, though her voice and breath insisted on staying silent and tempered. With no one watching, she had no reason to uphold her facade, yet even as parts of it crumbled she insisted on preserving what she could. Maybe she'd be able to deceive herself into thinking that everything was fine.

* * *

><p>"Mami!" Nagisa cried out, running to embrace her after school. It was afternoon, and Mami was standing outside of the primary school to pick up Nagisa where she graciously welcomed the much-needed hug.<p>

She smiled after they withdrew. "How was school today?" she asked.

Nagisa didn't respond, simply opting to lean against Mami with a small sigh. After the events of the night prior, it was evident that she was still distressed as well. Her classroom setting fortunately had more distractions for a more active mind. "Was Sayaka in class today?" she asked.

Mami shook her head. "No… Though Homura was, and said she was fine," she lied, before realizing that she was doing so. Why did she feel so compelled to shield Nagisa? Regardless, she wasn't going to let her distress from that day be visible to the child. The two turned to walk home as she quickly changed topics, "We'll need to go hunting again tonight. Think you're ready to try again?"

It took Nagisa a moment to recall what Mami was referring to. "Oh! Yeah! Did you think of a name for it yet?" she asked eagerly, her eyes bright.

Mami gave a nod. "Mhm! Alright, what do you think of this…" She paused their walk and turned to face Nagisa directly, before raising her hands into two fists. _"Sonata… Scoppio!"_ As she said the final word she opened her hands in a gesture, imitating a burst for exaggeration.

Nagisa stared blankly, a little confused by both the name and the gesture. Mami was still frozen in the pose, concerned that her student wasn't impressed. Nagisa suddenly asked, "I give up, what's it mean?"

Perhaps Mami had been holding her expectations too high. She lowered her hands. Why she expected a child to understand Italian was a mystery even to her. "It means 'Sonata Burst.' What do you think?"

Nagisa's smile was a bit reassuring. "I like it!" she said, before resuming her step, with no comment on the attention Mami had drawn to herself.

The two soon returned home for a quick meal and to drop off their belongings, both eager to begin and hopefully finish the hunt early that night. With Homura missing and Sayaka temporarily out of action, there would be plenty of wraiths about that evening, and after last night's hunt, Mami's and Nagisa's soul gems were both charged and ready to fight.

As long as they were together, fear held no sway. The two set out, beginning to scout the town for any signs of wraith activity. Nagisa, eager to make her mentor proud, took the lead, studying her soul gem and using her magic to lead the two through the streets. Mami followed behind her, noting some interesting or unusual changes in direction, as well as pauses by odd locations. She wanted to let Nagisa demonstrate what she had learned, yet every few minutes she'd still observe her own soul gem to see if they were close to finding a miasma.

The two paused in front of a movie theater, much to Mami's surprise. "Why are we stopping here? I don't detect any activity…"

"We're not stopping here, I just wanted to see what was playing," Nagisa said, almost whimsically. "There's wraiths at the scrapyard, I figured that out a while ago. This was just along the way," she said, turning to Mami with a smile.

While the scrapyard would make sense, how Nagisa knew for sure that it was currently an active wraith site still left Mami skeptical. They hadn't even been close enough to detect any activity from there, considering the scrapyard was a few blocks downtown still. Regardless, she couldn't help but feel that there was a subliminal message in the stop. Nagisa turned to cut through the alleyway beside the theater, as once again Mami followed. The child had returned her soul gem to its ring form, no longer watching it as if she already knew the way, even taking to skipping.

The behavior was rather uncanny, but Mami allowed herself to trust her student's judgment for the time being. If she was wrong, they'd simply pick up any trail they could find. The two soon emerged from the alley, and were walking through the streets of downtown. The sun was already beginning to set, leaving the sky red and the air warm but not in the least unpleasant. They stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change to allow them to proceed, and a few blocks further they found themselves at the top of a hill. At its base was the scrapyard, not out of place on the edge of the commercial district.

To the girls' eyes, however, the yard was covered in thick purple smoke, trailing out through the streets. Nagisa had been right, to Mami's surprise. "How did you know?" she asked, slightly in awe. Part of her still believed it was a lucky guess.

"I had to study a map of the town a lot, first… But have you ever noticed how miasma trails also move when we find them?" Nagisa asked. "We don't just see signs of them, but we can also see where they're going."

Mami hadn't paid attention to that aspect before as it seemed relatively minor. Nagisa continued, "Well, I figured if we just take a few readings at different places, we can figure out where it's located without having to follow its entire trail!"

To think a mere child had come up with such a sophisticated method. "I had never thought of doing that," Mami said with a smile. "I'm very impressed, Nagisa. Coming up with your own methods without my help!"

"We were studying intersecting lines in school last week so I wanted to try it," Nagisa explained, shuffling her feet slightly. "I really wasn't sure it would work."

Mami gave a nod. "Well, it seems like it did. Let's not wait any longer. We have a job to do!" She held her hand out as Nagisa followed suit, their rings forming into their soul gems, sparking to signal the beginning of their transformations.

The two became enveloped in a dance of light and ribbons, as both sprung into the air, descending down the hill. Their descent in reality was fairly rapid, yet time relatively seemed to distort to their will. As the two fell they engaged in a dance, spinning one another around as their garbs changed to their respective magical outfits. As the two finally touched the ground, they were at the base of the hill within the thick of the fog. Mami was holding her rifle in her hand, with Nagisa's trumpet in her own.

The showmanship had immediately caught the attention of the wraiths as they crawled out of their shadows, staring down the intruders with eyeless faces. The thickness of the miasma had been hiding some of the largest wraiths that Mami and Nagisa had ever seen, yet neither flinched as they stared down back at their targets.

One turned to attack, lunging forward with impeccable speed. Nagisa responded first, dropping low and blowing upwards into her trumpet, almost point-blank at the monster. The stream that poured from her trumpet was enough to send the wraith reeling, stunned. Mami immediately raised her rifle, taking a clear, precise shot right at the head, downing the towering monstrosity in a single blow.

The spent rifle soon dematerialized in her hands as the two stood beside one another again. "Who's next?" Mami demanded of the monsters.

The cocky disposition was the most infuriating thing ever to beasts who preyed on grief and wrath. They let off a chorus of enraged moans, as several began to glide across the ground, straight towards the two.

Mami spawned several rifles around her, firing a single volley to slow the advancing group, buying Nagisa time to use her trumpet to produce a large bubble around them both. The shield flexed as the wraiths crashed into it, yet it did not break, at least not until Nagisa willed it to shatter with a swipe of her hand. The force of its eruption sent the attackers flying in all directions, or would have had the volley Mami fired not entangled them within her ribbons. With a flick of her wrist, the cluster was rounded together mid-air and slammed hard into the ground.

The dust barely had time to clear as a translucent, hungry caterpillar descended upon the beasts from above, devouring them with an explosion.

More wraiths by now were already advancing, not giving a moment's rest this time, though Mami emerged from the cloud of smoke from the prior attack, guns blazing, already engaged. She fired shot after shot, spinning her rifles to club the hoard when they got close. The caterpillar from before retreated into Nagisa's trumpet. From behind, she moved to raise her trumpet over her head and blow, her bubbles now charged with the essence of the wraiths that had been consumed. The bubbles quickly fanned out, glowing and pulsing with light, and descended upon the hoard. Whenever one was touched, it released a violent explosion.

The miasma was alive with the flash of gunfire and the minefield of enchanted, explosive bubbles. Nagisa quickly stepped into the fray as neither of the girls missed a step, the two dodging in and out of one another's attacks to cover any opening that the other had left.

Soon, enough fodder had ignited all of Nagisa's bubbles, allowing more of the hoard to advance from all angles. The two moved to fight back to back, maintaining pace but with a slight sense of frantic unrest. "There's a lot of them!" Nagisa cried out.

Mami's arms were working furiously, spawning a rifle, firing, striking, dismissing, repeating. "Just a few more seconds! We need all of them in the open!" she called back, between gunshots.

The hoard was relentless and advancing closer and closer in spite of the girls' retaliation. Nagisa delivered a quick kick to a wraith's core, followed by an uppercut with her trumpet to shatter its jaw, yet a second demon was immediately behind the first, ready to claw at her while she was exposed. Nagisa soon felt metal slide along her shoulder as Mami's rifle fired right next to her ear, not fully stopping the wraith, but slowing it enough to buy time. Before Nagisa could attack as well, she felt Mami's hand grab her arm, and with a leap she found herself in the air.

She was taken off guard only for a moment as images began to flash through her mind, interrupting her view of the battle. They were familiar ones, though their presence in her mind was not her own doing. Mami took her hand in midair, interlocking their fingers, the wraiths swirling impatiently below. She held her rifle out as Nagisa raised her trumpet, quickly understanding. The weapons began to glow as both swung their other hands around, the tools seeming to merge together upon colliding in a burst of light. As before, the various fixtures of both the trumpet and rifle expanded and morphed to form an elegant, currently airborne howitzer.

Unlike the original, however, this one bore two barrels, and featured just a single firing lever. The trigger had appeared just beneath Mami's and Nagisa's interlocked hands, while their free hands gripped the frame of the weapon for support. They glanced to one another, exchanging nods as they simultaneously pulled down on the lever, shouting in unison:

"_Sonata Scoppio!"_

Two thundering booms resounded, the recoil knocking the two further into the air. Twin glowing shells erupted from the barrels, slightly staggered in time. The first one, glowing almost silver, struck the ground first, immediately emitting a burst of small bubbles in all directions. Before the second shell could strike the same location, however, the bubbles began rushing back to the impact site in a powerful implosion, forcing the wraiths together.

The second shell, glowing gold, plowed through the unfortunate monsters already trapped in the center of the implosion. For a second, the shell remained stuck in the earth, allowing the burst of the first shell to finish reeling in its victims. The golden shell then finally exploded with a deafening boom, a fireball consuming the terrain, forcing the girls to shield their eyes. Every wraith in sight was immediately vaporized.

As the two landed, the explosion had dissipated yet the heat from the attack lingered. What's more, the miasma was in the process of lifting, and within seconds the two found themselves back in the real world once more, standing amidst various towering piles and shelves of steel, copper, and aluminum scrap. The only sounds were the small clicks of curses falling to the ground.

Mami and Nagisa were silent momentarily, absorbing the events of the fight. Soon, however, Nagisa found herself beaming at Mami, unable to keep herself from smiling wide and bouncing ecstatically.

Mami's confident but collected aura soon gave way to enthusiasm. She was soon beaming back, as Nagisa leapt forward into a tight hug, still bouncing. "THAT WAS SO COOL!" Nagisa shouted. "And— There was— With—And _SONATA SCOPPIO!_" Incoherent ravings seemed to be the only understandable language for the time being.

Mami returned the hug just as tightly, unable to cease smiling or stifle a chuckle in response.

After a moment more of celebration, the two moved to gather the curses and purify their soul gems, pocketing the excess ones to either share or use at a later time. With the janitorial work complete, they dismissed their magical outfits and departed from the scrapyard, feeling confident and ecstatic for that evening.

* * *

><p>They mostly retraced their steps to get back home, once again cutting through the alley to pass by the theater. As they passed by the box office, this time it was Mami who paused, reaching to tug on Nagisa's shoulder. "Did you want to see a movie, by chance?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.<p>

Nagisa hadn't even been paying attention to where they were, and only just noticed the theater once more. Her face lit up as she began bouncing excitedly, much like she had before. "Can we!?" she eagerly pleaded. Mami gave a nod, smiling warmly. There was just enough time before the day was over. She led the young girl to the box office ticket booth.

This was Nagisa's first time in a movie theater, at least as far as she could remember. If she was being honest with herself, she was slightly more excited to see the snack bar than she was the actual film, though needless to say the film was a hardly unwelcome conclusion to a successful but eventful night.

Mami, being a high schooler still, had to be conservative on how many snacks she bought, so she and Nagisa had to share a large drink and a tub of popcorn, appropriately dusted with cheddar flavoring. The two managed to find seats together with about half of an hour to spare before the film started.

It was an animated American film that had been the talk of Nagisa's class for the past few months. Something involving two sisters, ice magic, and plenty of fantasy to entertain a young imagination such as Nagisa's. That said, it was starting to get late, and Mami soon found a small head leaning on her shoulder, trying not to doze off. Its owner idly would reach into the tub of popcorn for a small snack, otherwise captivated by the story and songs playing on the screen.

Mami soon found herself leaning against Nagisa slightly as well, her eyes gradually beginning to droop. The movie wasn't relevant, at least to her. She wasn't alone. Nagisa was happy. They both were safe. That was all that mattered.


	9. Chapter 9

A sudden change in musical number, accompanied by a few nudges caused Mami to stir awake. "Mami, you fell asleep!"

Groggily, she rubbed her eyes, trying to reacquaint herself with her surroundings and her physical form. Mami and Nagisa were still in the movie theater, with Nagisa looking a little frustrated with how careless Mami had been to allow herself to miss even a second of the movie. She let out a yawn, stretching and accidentally knocking an empty tub of popcorn to the floor, which Nagisa caught before it could complete its descent.

Mami had indeed fallen asleep, though there wasn't much that could change that now. She rubbed her eyes, letting them adjust, before looking to Nagisa with a sheepish smile. "I guess I did, didn't I?" Nagisa huffed in response, annoyed in the minutest sense, even though Mami's actions were hardly a grave sin.

The two rose to their feet as the credits continued playing, moving to slink out of the theater and dispose of their trash. As they left the theater,the sun had completely set, with the moon now full overhead. The two turned to resume their walk home. The air was brisk enough to make Mami wish she had remembered a coat, though Nagisa ignored the slight chill, distracted by her imagining the cracks in the sidewalk were tightropes and she were an acrobat.

The roads were quiet, with few cars or pedestrians to disrupt the silence of the walk home. "Did you enjoy the movie, Nagisa?" Mami asked as they turned around a street corner.

Nagisa's arms remained held out to help balance herself, determined to continue her imaginary tightrope walking, as she answered: "Yeah… I didn't like how Elsa kept running and pushing away from her sister though… But I'm glad they saved each other in the end." The two eventually came to a crosswalk, forcing them to wait. Nagisa turned to look at Mami during the pause. "Kinda reminds me of us, a little… With how you saved me and everything, not the running away part." She seemed fairly nonchalant with her statement.

The sign soon changed to permit crossing as the two stepped onto the crosswalk. "I was just doing what any responsible magical girl would do," Mami responded, somewhat cheerfully, attempting to downplay her actions. The two met the sidewalk on the other side of the street before taking a turn to cut through the park on the way home.

There were no more significant cracks for Nagisa to follow further, so she shook her head in response to Mami, a little more alert to the conversation now. "You could've just left me. You didn't, though." Nagisa's tone had changed, eerily somber and mature all of the sudden. She bowed her head a little, as if trying to formulate her next sentence carefully. Mami looked to her, slightly concerned but mostly curious. "I think I would have given up a long time ago if you hadn't taken me with you…"

"Nagisa…" Mami began, unsure of what exactly she wanted to say.

Nagisa continued, keeping her head forward and down to avoid eye contact, "Mami-san… I know you call me your student and your friend, but… Do you think we might not be just that?" She hesitated, causing Mami to pause in her step. Nagisa was trembling slightly.

The scenario was flooding Mami's mind with familiar images. Similar words had been uttered by Kyouko before they had parted, sparking subtle concerns in her worrisome mind. She tried to quell the concern in her voice. "What do you mean, Nagisa?"

Nagisa inhaled sharply, struggling with her request and trying to suppress her trembling before finally turning on her heel to face Mami. "Do you think you could call me your sister?" she squeaked.

The two stared momentarily, the request taking its time to register in Mami's head. "Sis… ter?" she muttered. "Even though… we're not…?" The word was still rolling in her mind, leaving her stunned.

Nagisa gave a nod, the moonlight revealing a bit of sheepish blushing. "I don't care about that! Sisters watch out for each other and… and take care of each other! And… you're… I mean…" Her voice trailed off, Nagisa becoming a little more self conscious of her excited stammering. There were the beginnings of tears in her eyes, a combination of her growing emotional and simply being tired. She stared down, shuffling her feet, her tone fading back into a mellow mutter. "You're the only family I have…" she whispered, sniffing.

The situation finally sunk in, leaving Mami silent for only a moment more. Gently, she stepped forward and knelt down, wrapping her arms around Nagisa in a warm embrace. Nagisa leaned into the hug as motions and thoughts that couldn't be put into words were conveyed. Mami's voice finally broke the silence, quiet but calming. "Now that I think about it, I think you might have saved me as well…" she whispered softly. She reached up with a hand and gently stroked Nagisa's hair. "I think you're right," she continued, closing her eyes. "We're family. We might not be related, but I think we've been sisters all this time…"

Nagisa buried her face into Mami's shoulder, her eyes slightly damp. She returned the hug tightly. "I love you, Mami…" she whispered, barely audible, but completely heartfelt nonetheless.

"I love you too, Nagisa," Mami returned more audibly. They tightened the hug briefly before she withdrew, her lips quivering in their smile as she noticed there were tears obstructing her vision. She quickly wiped her eyes as Nagisa did the same. She let out a small chuckle to try and lighten the mood, drawing attention to the novelty of their emotions. "We should get home. It's way past your bedtime."

She rose to her feet again as Nagisa instinctively reached out to take her hand. Mami was surprised by the gesture, but welcomed it all the same, as the two continued down the path toward home, the light of the moon their guide.

* * *

><p>Breakfast was relatively quick the next morning to compensate for a groggy awakening from having stayed out late. The combination of eggs and toast still managed to be filling for the two girls who didn't let last night's exchange disrupt their routines. That said, the apartment felt a little warmer for the two and more smiles and laughs were exchanged. Even as Mami dropped Nagisa off at school, their departure felt a little colder than before.<p>

Mami's classes once again drolled on without much incident. Considering yesterday's in-class distractions, she forced herself to record every word the teacher said. She drifted from class to class, allowing herself to become engrossed in her notes, refusing to let her suspicions and worries get the better of her. Her other friends didn't cross her mind; she assured herself they were fine. She didn't even bother to try and detect anyone's presence out of fear of inciting needless concern within herself. This extra bout of determination meant her time was efficiently spent, leaving her writing even as the bell began to ring.

Granted, this was the bell for lunch. She stowed her notes into her bag, with no class period next to distract her from her own mind. She slid out of her chair, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She was going to meet on the roof to eat regardless. If Sayaka was there—oh how she hoped she would be—then it just meant her fears would be dismissed. If Sayaka was absent, she reassured herself that her older student was simply taking another day off to recover.

She began shuffling through her bag as she got to the roof, not looking ahead. As she came to a stop before the bench, she managed to finally pull out her bento box, only to find the bench occupied, much to her surprise.

"Hey," a calm voice said behind a pocky stick. Kyouko Sakura sat up a little straighter after offering the greeting, acknowledging Mami's presence more fully.

"Kyouko…?" Mami had every reason to be taken aback. "What are you doing here?"

"What, am I not allowed here?" Kyouko retorted. Mami couldn't make out if her mouth was contorted into a cocky smile or an irritated frown. The tone was even more ambiguous.

"Well, technically speaking, no, as you're not a student…" Mami began. Kyouko slid over in the middle of the sentence, making room on the bench for Mami to sit. She complied, setting her box in her lap. She opened her mouth to continue, but was cut off by Kyouko.

"Just wanted to check on you," she clarified, reaching into her pocket to pull out her box of pocky. She offered a stick to Mami, who politely refused, considering she still had a lunch to eat. "Looked like Sayaka's little accident took a number on you. I'm kinda surprised you let me and Homura take her home."

"Homura _and_ you?" Mami commented, her eyes turning into a slight glare. Kyouko immediately raised her hands, sarcastically dismissing the implied accusation.

"Oh relax, nothing happened. I'll get to that later." She lowered her hands, leaning back on the bench to stretch a little. "I think you did the right thing though. You and your kid needed to take care of yourselves before you could worry about helping Sayaka."

Mami raised her hand to look at her soul gem within her ring. "Yes, well, Homura made that fairly apparent. I'm worried sick over Sayaka, but I cannot let anything happen to Nagisa."

Kyouko interjected somewhat awkwardly, looking skyward and kicking her feet. "That's the thing I've noticed about Homura… She doesn't do what's right or wrong." She lowered her head again, looking forward. "She just does what's smartest at the time. I can get behind that."

There didn't seem to be any further statements to make on Kyouko's behalf. Mami noted the lack of commentary on Nagisa. Something seemed to be slightly different in Kyouko's demeanour. Cautiously, she removed the lid to her bento box. "Can you tell me what happened to Sayaka now?"

"Oh yeah," Kyouko responded, perking up. The lack of formality and gravity was starting to get irritating. "She's fine. As I said we took her home… I kinda found out what was going on, personally."

"I fail to believe she opened up to you," Mami retorted, somewhat defiantly. She took a piece of chicken in her chopsticks to put it to her mouth.

"Oh come on, I know how to not be an asshole!" Kyouko was starting to become vexed by the lack of trust, but refused to outright lose her cool again. "I played nice, I swear. Homura led her home, I followed at a distance. Was kinda surprised when she called me out, though, she's real perceptive even when she's had a chunk taken out of her.

"Anyway, just told her I wanted to make sure she got home safely, and that was the truth. We got her home fine and left, that was it."

Mami swallowed a piece of chicken. "Do you know at all why she wasn't in class yesterday?" She tried to hide the hopeful tone of her voice.

"Yeah, she was with me. I dropped by and noticed she was still at home. Called her outside, just told her I wanted to talk, and I'm guessing she kinda did too. I brought her on a little trip to the remains of my dad's church. Told her about my family, how we had been starving, how my dad worked as a preacher…" Her tone became darker as she looked towards the ground. "I told her what I wished for, how my dad found out, how it destroyed my family. The gist of how you'll always come to regret your wish."

Kyouko raised her pocky box to her mouth to grab another stick with her teeth, as she looked over to Mami. "I never told you that whole story, did I?"

"You mentioned enough," Mami responded. "I was able to figure out the rest on my own." She tried to express sympathy in her voice.

Whether it was received or even noticed was unknown, as Kyouko immediately returned to her story.. "She's weird though."

"Sayaka? She's just very driven," Mami answered.

"No, she's weird," Kyouko reiterated. "First thing she did after my story was apologize, not for my family or anything, but just for being weak herself in front of me. Then she said she wasn't gonna fight alongside you anymore."

Mami's eyes widened in shock. "What!?"

"Oi, relax, lemme finish," Kyouko assured her. "Honestly, she kinda needs you now more than ever. I was about ready to smack the doubt out of her for having such a stupid reason."

"Reason?" Mami asked. "What's wrong with her, what's happened!? What's been going on?"

"Y'know that boy she's obsessing over?" Kyouko continued.

"Yes, Kamijou."

"Apparently one of her friends is crushin' on him as well, from what I gathered. Gave her a deadline to try and get with him, said she'd ask if Sayaka chickened out. The way she saw it, she can either be a magical girl and hero of justice, or she can try to go back to being a normal girl to be with him. That's why she tried to throw away her soul gem, she wanted to go back to being human."

Mami stared, a little unsure whether or not she could believe the story. "See, I told you it was stupid," Kyouko commented in response. "Angsty little girl… Of course she phrased it as if she was trying to be righteous and all. Told me once her friend confronted her she actually had half a mind to fight her. I was almost impressed." She leaned back, expecting Mami to immediately rush to Sayaka's defense.

On cue, Mami interrupted. "No," she asserted asserted. "Sayaka would never do such a thing."

"Hey, she believed that too, but she still thought it. I think she might be more wishy washy than you, Mami," Kyouko sarcastically remarked, begetting a glare. "I'm serious, though. She doesn't want to just act right at all times, she wants to think right at all times. She kinda has this idea of her character, and if she acts out of character even briefly, then she's a failure and is unfit to be a hero. I think you might've been pushing this 'hero of justice' thing a bit too hard on her…"

Mami was on the verge of yelling. "Are you saying it's my fault she nearly killed herself!?" she demanded, clearly upset.

Kyouko sighed and shook her head. "She can make her own decisions, she just made one bad one. Iunno if she'll easily forgive herself, but I know you still will. Once she said she was too 'impure' and selfish to work with you, I grabbed her and made her promise she'd get a backbone."

Mami fell silent, trying to search Kyouko's face for answers. The story seemed so dismissive and nonchalant for how much gravity it held. "Why?" she finally asked. "Why do you care?"

"Cause she needs someone to help her learn from her mistakes. And I think a part of you needs her as well," Kyouko explained, her sarcastic demeanour totally gone. She sat up slightly, her eyes completely serious as they met Mami's. "I think that night was hellish enough for everyone. Plus I didn't wanna see you go through a repeat of what happened a year ago… Especially not from an stupidly righteous reason like that."

"So… you helped because you feel…" Mami began, leaning in slightly, worried about the reaction her next word would receive. "...guilty?" She slid closer, her voice slightly weak with emotion. "You still care?"

Kyouko leaned back in the bench, averting her gaze away from Mami, a stick of pocky between her teeth. She didn't respond immediately, and when she did it came out as a mutter: "...I guess."

Mami leaned in further, smiling. Kyouko didn't acknowledge her, arms behind her head, looking off to the distance and mulling over her thoughts before she felt gentle lips peck her cheek. Mami withdrew as Kyouko's expression immediately turned bright red from a mixture of embarrassment and surprise. "Thank you," Mami said softly, offering a warm, heartfelt smile. Kyouko was too taken off guard to respond, and both were too distracted to notice the third figure now on the roof, having just approached from the halls.

Sayaka Miki had just arrived at the roof, staring at the two with her mouth agape. "_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"_


	10. Chapter 10

"SERIOUSLY!?" A furious Sayaka Miki was trying to keep herself from trembling. "I was just starting to trust you, and then you pull this! And then—Mami!?"

"Sayaka- this isn't—!" Mami attempted to call out.

"Psh… This isn't what it looks like." Kyouko was still caught off guard from Mami's sudden advance, but tried to keep herself composed. "You're overreacting, blockhead," she snarkly replied, rising to her feet. Sayaka stayed on her guard as Kyouko walked to the fence. "Mami's just overly friendly with everyone, you should know that by now," she dismissively stated, stifling her embarrassment with a shaky grin, prompting a bit of an annoyed blush from Mami. "I gotta get going anyway, you two can figure the rest of this out. Oh yeah, don't forget what we talked about earlier, Sayaka. And Mami," she looked back with a cocky smile. "...Good luck." She knelt down briefly before making a vault over the fence, and in moments was gone.

Sayaka stared at Mami, her mind in turmoil and conflicted between dropping the issue and fueling her rage. "What was that about?" she huffed.

"Am I not allowed to talk to her?" Mami calmly asked back, finally able to control the blushing of her face.

"It's not that, it's…" Sayaka muttered, finally beginning to calm down.

Mami offered a placating smile. "My, the jealous type… If you wanted a kiss too you could just ask."

Sayaka's eyes suddenly widened as she gritted her teeth, ready to yell again. "_I'M NOT JEALOUS OF_—"

Mami quickly interrupted. "I'm only teasing… Everyone just seems so huffy today. Just… please come sit down. Tell me what's on your mind."

Sayaka paused for a moment, as if she was debating if conversation was worth the effort. With a sigh she soon obliged to take a seat next to Mami, surprised that the first thing she received was an embrace.

"I know you've been through a lot lately, Sayaka. That's what Kyouko was telling me," she explained, soon withdrawing from the hug. She waited, not receiving any response from Sayaka. "Is there nothing you wanted to talk about?"

"I'm not good enough for you," Sayaka muttered. "Why do you want to keep me around?"

"Not good enough? Sayaka, you've learned so much since we've met! You've become one of the most skilled Magical girls I've ever met!" Mami began.

"I don't care about that." Sayaka's gaze remained fixed at the ground. "An ally of justice is more than just a skilled puella magi. They need to stand for what's right and honest. That's something I can't do. I'm jealous, selfish… I'm too much of a disappointment."

"Are you saying such lies to try and be humble? Or do you truly believe that?" Mami asked. Her tone was different from moments ago. It was still patient, yet had a sudden air of authority. "There's no such thing as a perfect being. A true sin is assuming you can't improve." Mami still had her thermos with her, which she used to pour another glass of tea to take a sip. "If I am ever to be disappointed in you, that will be my decision and mine alone, and the only way that will happen will be if you refuse to try and better yourself. Don't be depreciative."

Sayaka was silent a moment more. "Are you really okay with someone as flawed as me?"

"Your flaws are what make you human," Mami replied, procuring her soul gem. "They're what make us all human… Even after being reduced to a state such as this…" The gem gleamed golden, afternoon sunlight bouncing off in each direction. She stared at her gem for a few moments, debating what to say next.

"I never wanted this life, Sayaka… I didn't have a choice in the matter. But, if I can do more good than bad in the world, then sometimes I have to accept that as enough." She dismissed her gem, returning it to its ring shape.

Sayaka sighed, reflecting on the conversation. Mami continued: "Sentiment aside, I need to speak practically as well. The wraiths have been getting stronger and stronger as of late. It's not smart to fight alone, even for a veteran such as myself," Mami asserted. "You shouldn't fight alone either. Nagisa and I will be hunting by the mall tonight. I won't force you to fight by me, but I'd like it if you did. Regardless of morality, we could use your help, and I wouldn't want to lose a friend due to misplaced honor."

Sayaka didn't respond further, but bowed her head as disgruntled acknowledgement. She opted to take out a bento box of her own, finally eating with only a few minutes of lunch remaining.

"How come you arrived late, by the way?" Mami asked.

"Had to stay after class to get caught up after missing a day," Sayaka mumbled between bites.

"And yesterday? I heard you were with Kyouko," Mami continued. "How was that?"

Sayaka shrugged. "I guess I was wrong about her… I dunno. I don't want to talk about it right now…" She shiftily glared at Mami from the corner of her eyes, "Especially after what I saw ear—" As if on cue, the bell suddenly rang as she groaned, staring down at her partially eaten meal. "Agh, I didn't get to finish!"

The two rose to their feet and offered farewells. "I'll hopefully see you tonight," Mami added before they parted. Sayaka turned wordlessly to head to her next class, finishing what she could of her lunch on the way.

* * *

><p>The remaining hours of class passed quietly but patiently, giving Mami time to mull over her thoughts. With Sayaka's return most of her immediate concerns were finally sated, yet Sayaka's disposition still left her restless. She had been taking notes of the wraith activity for the past two weeks, noticing patterns, shifts, and increasingly aggressive behaviors. She was plenty strong on her own, but if her assumptions were correct, she was being honest before when she had said she and Nagisa would eventually need reliable help.<p>

The final bell finally permitted her to depart campus. She was unable to stay to see if she could catch Sayaka after class, having an obligation to pick up Nagisa at the same time. The child was waiting obediently by the elementary school's entrance when Mami arrived, and instinctively took her hand to walk with her.

"How was school today?" Mami asked, as per routine. Nagisa solemnly averted her gaze and shuffled her feet slightly. Mami took notice of the silence. "Is something wrong?"

"I… uh…" Nagisa muttered. "I got in a fight today with a friend…"

Mami squeezed Nagisa's hand a bit tighter to turn to her slightly, expecting a need to scold her. Before she could say anything, Nagisa immediately interjected, "No, not like that! Like… just an argument. With yelling."

"Over what?" Mami pried.

"Something I shouldn't have been sticking my nose in…" Nagisa muttered, trying to avoid the issue, regretting having mentioned it.

Mami sighed, but patiently glanced at Nagisa. "Well, if you didn't get in trouble for it, there's no harm in sharing now."

"Promise you won't get mad?" Nagisa asked. Mami gave a nod and a smile. Nagisa took a deep breath before continuing, yet when she spoke all the words seemed to fly from her mouth at once. "Some girl was saying she hates her sister! So I told her she shouldn't be saying that, and she said I wouldn't know what it's like cause I don't have a real sister." The quiet demeanor was suddenly frothing with emotion. "How can she say that!"

"Well, that's simply not true," Mami tried to console her. "You can't let the words of others get to you like that."

Nagisa continued her protest, "But then she said it's cause we don't look like sisters and—"

"Does it matter what she thinks, Nagisa?" Mami said with a slight smile. "The opinions of others only matter if you want them to matter. I have classmates who are convinced we're related if you want an opinion to trump your classmate's, but even then, the only thing that matters is what you think. We don't need to prove anything to your classmate—if she doesn't believe you, then it's her problem."

Nagisa bowed her head a little, quiet once more. "I was ready to punch her but a teacher heard us yelling and separated us then."

"You know violence is not the answer," Mami reprimanded as the two arrived at the apartment complex. They started to head up the stairs, as Mami added with an amused smile, "Plus, you're a magical girl. To b e honest it wouldn't really be a fair fight."

This managed to get a small giggle from Nagisa, who looked back up. "You're not mad?"

Mami shook her head. "I promised I wouldn't get mad. You didn't actually hit her either, so no harm done." She unlocked the door to her apartment as the two headed inside. "I'm going to make dinner before we go hunting tonight."

"Is Sayaka going to be there tonight?" Nagisa asked, dropping her bag by the coffee table.

"I hope so…" Mami began, putting some pots on the stove. "She was finally back in class today. I don't know if she's recovered enough to fight yet, however." She began cutting up ingredients for a stew.

The meal was ready moments later, and the two quickly ate before preparing to head out again. As arranged, they made their way to the center of the mall, soon picking up signs of wraith activity. Before long, they came to a giant wall of fog, completely shrouding half of the shopping center. Oddly, aside from the cloud, the mall was fairly empty tonight. Nagisa placed her hand over her ring, ready to enter the miasma, before Mami caught her hand. "Let's wait and see if Sayaka's coming first."

Nagisa took a seat on a nearby bench outside the store, but couldn't stop looking at the miasma. It was gradually growing larger, and was covering a large portion of the plaza. The magical signals it gave off were powerful, implying high levels of activity. As eager as she was to fight, she had to admit that Mami was probably right—some extra help would probably be useful.

Mami folded her arms and paced slightly, before the two noticed the presence of a third. They turned their heads from the miasma to notice Sayaka Miki approaching them.

"Sorry I'm late," Sayaka said. "Should we get started before that thing gets any bigger?" She raised her soul gem.

Mami gave a nod as Nagisa rose to her feat. The three stepped forward into the mist, their soul gems enveloping them with light as they became wrapped in the fog. By the time they were fully enveloped, the three of them were armed and equipped with their magical necessities. "What's the plan?" Sayaka immediately asked.

There were shadowy forms of wraiths swirling in the distance. Dark walls had been constructed in this world, complicating the environment with an artificial maze. "Find high ground and assess the situation," Mami ordered. This behavior was unusual for wraiths. "I have a feeling we need to be at the top of our game tonight."

Sayaka gave a nod and took point, rushing ahead, with Mami and Nagisa covering her from behind. Straggling wraiths began to take notice, turning to slash at the advancing group, only to be met with Sayaka's blade.

More and more wraiths began to notice the group's presence, forming a sizable count by the time they reached the heart of the miasma. The three stopped before the horde, weapons ready, eager to provoke a fight. Then, surprisingly, the wraiths turned and fled, scattering into the nearby alleyways and corridors.

The three kept their guards raised, finding themselves waiting by a fountain, scanning the crevices and alleyways for any movement. "What are they doing?" Sayaka asked, her sword reflecting the pale light of the shadowy world.

"I don't know…" Mami quietly responded, rifle in her hands. Her eyes surveyed the buildings for any potential target. "I don't like this." She began to take a few steps towards a nearby alley before turning to gesture to her subordinates. "Split off and scout the nearest alleyways, but don't go too far to lose sight of the fountain. The second you find something, give us a signal and we'll regroup."

Sayaka and Nagisa both nodded. "Got it," they said in unison, though Nagisa's voice faltered with anxiety, contrasting with the blunt voice of Sayaka.

The three split off in different directions. The surrounding shops and buildings had been turned into facades and walls. Wraiths had been known to have some effect on their shadowy environment, though their influence was typically limited, so this level of architecture was rather uncommon. Mami had made it about 20 steps into the alleyway before suddenly she felt a surge of magic behind her. She spun on her heel to see a shadowy wall rise up behind her, cutting her off from the fountain. She pressed up against it, trying to find an opening. "Nagisa!? Sayaka!?"

"Mami-san!" a small voice called out. Nagisa seemed distant, but unharmed.

"Are you two okay?" Mami called back, heart racing. She could hear the rustling of wraiths behind her, ready to close in on the now-separated puella magi.

"I'm guessing you got cut off too! I'm fine, don't see any wraiths yet. I'm going to try and find a way back to you guys!" Sayaka called back.

"I'm scared!" Nagisa cried out again.

A horde of wraiths had gathered within Mami's alleyway, deciding to concentrate their efforts on whom they saw as the strongest. "Nagisa, are there any wraiths around you? Are you in any danger?"

"N-no!" Nagisa called back. "Just a few… Where are you, Mami?"

Mami did her best to keep her voice level, nervous for her own sake now. "Stay focused, Nagisa. If it's safe for you to move, try to regroup with Sayaka." The wraiths growled and moaned more audibly, their commotion surely meeting the ears of Mami's companions. She held an arm out to the side, spawning an array of rifles. "I'll try to rendezvous with you two shortly." She raised the rifle in her hands to likewise aim at the monsters. "I'm going to try and hold their attention. Stay safe and move quickly."

The first wave of demons lunged for her. Mami pulled the trigger, her spawned rifles giving a click to mimic the one in her hands as their hammers came down, discharging an initial volley of fire in response.


	11. Chapter 11

A wraith's form was difficult to fathom. From what could be seen of them, they were often ghostly white, somewhat human in shape, but appeared to have frayed ties to the physical world. They were faceless figures born to incite the innermost fears of a beholder, formless enough to leave only the sensation accurate to memory. Everything else was subject to whatever bias their victims saw. Though they could be physically dangerous, their true threat was in how they assaulted the mind, requiring nerves of steel to even stand against.

The first wave of wraiths had fallen to Mami's onslaught, yet more demons immediately rushed in to take their place. Mami could feel her heart pounding in her shell of a body as she spun her expended rifles on their ends, using the stocks as clubs to fend off the attacks.

Now was not the time for fear. She had to keep her head cool and fight as aggressively as possible to hold the attention of the horde. Trapped against the wall, she began to push forward, dodging a lunge with a spin, conjuring a rifle to club the monster into a nearby wall, only to spin the rifle around to blast another in the face at point blank.

She was the embodiment of skill. Using her spent rifle, she vaulted upwards, her heel meeting the face of another attacker as she flung herself into the air. Her ribbons materialized in front of her, forming a giant cannon. "Tiro finale!" she cried, unleashing her signature move straight downwards. The explosion vaporized the immediate threats, leaving a shallow crater in the alley, roughly a foot deep. She landed in front of the crater as more wraiths began pouring into the alley.

More rifles. More magic. The flames of her shots seemed to linger, mirroring a sense of wrath building in her eyes. She focused that anger into a battalion of rifles, filling the alleyway with her weapons. Maintaining focus, the rifles began to fire, one after another, immediately vanishing upon firing so another could spawn in its place. So long as she concentrated, kept track of her weapon count and channeled her magic, her onslaught would not end.

The attacking horde slowly was beaten back, retreating into the smoke caused by the attack. Fresh rifles hung in the air behind Mami, her eyes keenly scanning the smoke for movement. She could feel her head pounding, her heart racing with adrenaline. Upon noticing there was no activity from the smoke, she relaxed a bit, allowing her rifles to dematerialize, ceasing her attack so she could catch her breath.

The second her shoulders dropped, a shadow suddenly darted from the smoke, as a group of wraiths lunged forward with blinding speed, taking advantage of the lowered guard. Mami backstepped to retaliate, prepared to counter attack, only to lose her footing to the pit she had made.

She rolled backwards, attempting to recover and complete her retaliation, only to see a wraith a mere few feet from her face. Its hands were replaced with blade-like limbs, its mouth hanging open to an inhuman degree. Several similar beasts were right behind the leader, lunging at Mami as well. There was no time to escape. Everything seemed frozen, a few fractions of a second allotted to observe the tragedy in the works. She was going to die here.

A sword suddenly planted into the ground, slicing through the wraith's head inches in front of Mami. Four more swords followed suit around her, as a sudden bubble of light crashed right overhead. The swords glowed, forming a rune beneath her feet, protecting her from the burst of light, as the bubble released a shockwave. Everything, save for whatever was inside the rune, was bathed in destructive light.

The swords vanished into blue light as Sayaka and Nagisa landed on either side of Mami. "That was close!" Sayaka jeered as Nagisa helped Mami back to her feet.

"Are you okay, Mami?" Nagisa asked. Mami staggered a little rising to her feet, biting her lip. Her ankle had been twisted due to her recklessness.

"I'm fine," she grunted, ignoring the pain. "Good work, you two."

Sayaka had already stepped forward, two swords drawn, taunting the remaining horde. "Thank Nagisa for that one, it was her design." The wraiths were already advancing again. Two slashed at Sayaka who immediately parried their strikes, slicing back, preventing them from advancing.

Nagisa was soon right beside her, using her horn to strike, shock or blast any wraiths that attempted to slip past Sayaka or take advantage of any openings. For a moment, Mami relaxed, leaning against a wall, grateful her students had gained control of the situation. She berated herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings, as she scanned the area briefly, taking note of the open overhead walkway Nagisa and Sayaka had found in an otherwise blocked off alley. She noticed movement within the secret path, and immediately spawned a rifle.

A wraith, attempting to slip past the front line, reared its head just long enough for Mami to blast it. She held a second rifle in her hands, waiting to see if more would follow, when she heard a shout from Nagisa. She glanced over. Nagisa was frantically gesturing back down the alleyway. Mami turned around.

The artificial wall that had trapped her before was gone. What had taken its place was a massive demon, roughly 13 feet, close enough to strike her. Mami turned and attempted to fire, her shots connecting but not phasing the beast. She saw its strike coming as she knelt down to leap backwards, though her heel suddenly let off a sharp burst of pain, causing her to stagger.

She wanted to flinch, to scream, to brace herself. She suddenly felt cold. She heard a muted scream from Nagisa. Don't look down. She rested her hands in front of her, on a large protruding object before her stomach. Slowly, she looked down, seeing the giant, bladed arm of the wraith sticking into her stomach. She grimaced, trying to moan or cry out, her voice falling silent as she felt her feet leave the ground as the monster hoisted her upwards, causing her to cough up blood. She groaned, gripping the limb, struggling helplessly against it. It had pierced all the way through and was sticking out of her back.

"Mami! Sayaka, help!" Nagisa screamed frantically. The words were barely distinguishable. Sayaka was less intelligible and even more distressed, likely pinned down by the wraiths on the front line, her defenses failing. Mami looked behind her, blood rapidly leaving her body, causing her vision to turn hazy. Nagisa was standing before the wraith.

The child was trembling. If she didn't act, Mami was going to die. This wraith was sucking the life from the only family she had left. Her knees began to buckle. This wraith was too big. She needed help. Mami reached her hand out, pleading, as Nagisa collapsed to her knees, covering her head with her hands. She wailed, powerless.

There was a sudden flash of red that tore through the arm of the wraith. Mami felt the shock of hitting the ground, barely able to see the red boots that landed between her and the monster before her vision went dark.

Sayaka had been pinned down by the attacking wraiths, yet suddenly found herself displaced a few feet from Mami. Several bolts of light suddenly and simultaneously tore through the air, piercing the demons, pushing back the front line as Homura Akemi landed in front of the blue knight.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Kyouko shouted, spinning her spear to an attack position. The wraith was recoiling from losing its limb and moved in to counter attack. Kyouko left no opening, slashing her spear upwards across its chest, extending it at the last second to pin the other arm to the wall. "WHY THE HELL IS SHE HURT!?"

Sayaka attempted to respond, her words coming out as senseless stammering. She looked back to Mami with dread. The blade had been removed from her stomach, having vaporized after being detached from its owner. Mami's magical girl attire had reverted to a school uniform, which, while it hid the gaping hole in her stomach, was soaked in blood. Nagisa was frantically shaking her, screaming at her between sobs.

"Miki-san," a level voice got her attention. Homura pulled back on her bowstring, firing another flurry of arrows into the horde. "Get her out of here and heal her."

"Like hell I'm going to leave you two-" Sayaka began. At that point, Kyouko's spear broke into chains and suddenly coiled around the wraith's neck, slamming it into the ground. She quickly withdrew it from the monster, reforming it. With a spin, she extended her spear over Mami's body, pointing the blade right at Sayaka's neck.

"You're the only one with enough ability to heal her. If she dies because you refused to listen, I'll kill you next." The wraith slowly started recuperating as the spear contracted again. Kyouko spun it in her hands and plowed it straight through the wraith's head. She looked back, noticing Sayaka hesitating over Mami's unconscious body. More wraiths suddenly appeared from the fountain, creating a second horde. She spun her spear overhead to face them, before shouting, "WELL!? Get going, blockhead!"

Sayaka complied. She lifted Mami's body in her arms and followed Nagisa up to the overhead path, leaving Homura and Kyouko to fend off the remaining horde.

* * *

><p>Sayaka placed Mami's unconscious body on the grass in the park, not far from the mall. The miasma was still thick and swirling. Hopefully Kyouko and Homura would be fine—she couldn't fathom being responsible for a single death, let alone three.<p>

"Hang on, Mami… please…" Nagisa was still sobbing, holding Mami's face, pleading that she would be fine. She would be. As Kyouko said, Sayaka was capable of healing her, and even Homura had helped her master her magic a few days prior. Sayaka stuck her sword into the ground and leaned on it, concentrating. The blade glowed, as did the ground around Mami. Suddenly, the light died.

"S-Sayaka?" Nagisa meekly began. "Why did you—?"

"Shut up, it's fine. I'm… I'm just nervous." She exhaled and concentrated again. Again her blade glowed, only for the light to cut.

"Sayaka… Stop it," Nagisa's voice quivered. "Stop it and just make Mami better."

"I'm trying!" Sayaka yelled. She grit her teeth and concentrated. A mere spark fizzled out of the handle of her sword.

"HEAL HER!" Nagisa screamed. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST HEAL HER!?"

Sayaka stared down, leaning her head on her sword, eyes wide with horror. "Why… why can't I…"

"SAYAKA!" Nagisa shouted, reaching over Mami's body to grab at the knight. "Why what!? Why!?... Why…!?..." Her voice collapsed into a collection of sobs. She keeled over, burying her face into Mami's chest, crying into her shoulder. "Why…"

_"Interesting."_ An eerie voice resonated within Sayaka's mind. Two red eyes peered out from the shadows, as a familiar catlike figure approached the three girls. Nagisa and Sayaka raised their heads to acknowledge the Incubator. _"It would seem Sayaka Miki has lost control of her magic."_

"Lost…?" Nagisa whimpered.

"Kyubey… please…" Sayaka pleaded. "What do I do? Why can't I heal her?"

_"It isn't quite my place to get involved, though I do not believe there is anything you can do. Magic loss is a rarity so we don't get to study it often,"_ Kyubey explained. _"It's not a matter of why it happened, it's more a matter of why you are rejecting your own magic."_

"How do I un-reject it!? I can't let Mami just die!" Sayaka cried.

Kyubey tilted its head. _"I do not know how to answer that. I'm merely here to observe the effects of The Law of the Cycle."_ Tears began to well up in Nagisa's eyes again. _"If anything, at least one of Mami's other wishes is being fulfilled. She never did want to die alone."_

Sayaka could feel the blood pounding in her ears. Her breath felt short. She rested her forehead on the pommel of her blade again, thinking. Nagisa was staring at Mami's face, tears streaming from her eyes as she sobbed. "Nagisa…" Sayaka muttered quietly. Nagisa raised her eyes, acknowledging her name. "Ignore him. Don't listen to him. Just ignore him…" Sayaka took a deep breath and slowly raised her head. "Help me…" Her eyes were pleading with the child. Nagisa bit her lip, suppressing her tears and gave a nod.

She took a similar position as Sayaka, her hands on the ground on the opposite side of Mami. Sayaka bowed her head once more and concentrated as the Incubator watched on.

Nagisa, tears still dripping from her eyes, lowered her head as well. The glow arced once more through Sayaka's sword, flickering but not fading, forming a rune below Mami. Light crept from Nagisa's hands, preserving the rune even as Sayaka faltered slightly. Between the two, light began to arc and dance over Mami's body. The injury began to glow through her school uniform. Within the wound, threads of light began interweaving, pulling the tissues back together. Beads of sweat began to break out over Sayaka's forehead as she focused. Soon, the light began to fade, leaving some scarring and blood behind.

Mami suddenly inhaled and gasped, her eyes twitching with life once more. She could scarcely move and closed her eyes immediately, still stunned by blood loss. Her breath continued, however, indicating she was alive. "Nagisa…" she whispered faintly.

Nagisa fell against her, hugging her tightly, sobbing once more. Mami weakly raised an arm to partially return the embrace, too stunned and powerless to react further. _"Amazing. I guess I'll have to delay my observations for now." _The incubator glanced at Sayaka, who meanwhile was leaning on her sword, barely able to sit upright.

She suddenly collapsed next to Mami, her breaths short. She dismissed her magical girl attire, covering her eyes with her arm, partially to hide the tears streaming down her face. "Thank god…" she muttered.

Kyubey trotted over, the appendages over his ears feeling the air over Sayaka. _"You've still enough energy within you to survive, it would appear. It's amazing you managed to rescue one life without losing your own, and to do so with borrowed magic."_

"Kyubey…" Sayaka muttered.

_"Hm?"_

"Screw off."

Kyubey sighed. _"I may not experience emotion, but that doesn't mean I have no comprehension of rudeness."_ He turned to scurry away.

"Nagisa…" a faint voice whispered. Nagisa leaned over, looking at Mami through teary eyes. "Are you… alright…?" Mami didn't open her eyes. Nagisa gave a nod, murmuring an 'mhm' as a few tears dripped from her face, landing on Mami's cheeks. "And… Sayaka…?"

Sayaka didn't respond, but was breathing. Nagisa nodded again, giving another uneasy confirmation. "Good…" Mami sighed, finally opening her eyes some. She reached up to Nagisa's face, using her thumb to wipe away a tear. "Don't cry… As long as you two are fine… I'll survive…" She smiled weakly.

Nagisa leaned into her hand, her breath quivering. Mami slowly sat up with a bit of Nagisa's help, leaving the child to sit in her lap, instinctually leading to a hug between them. "I thought I Iost you…" Nagisa whimpered.

Mami ran her fingers through the child's white hair. "I'll be fine now…" she cooed softly with a sigh. Her body still felt numb and exhausted.

There was suddenly a rustle of movement in the grass. Sayaka was on her feet, though her stance was unstable. Shakily she began to walk away. "Sayaka?" Mami questioned, distant. Sayaka tripped, catching herself, before resuming her precarious march.

Fear suddenly overtook Mami. She attempted to rise to her feet to follow after her, but suddenly fell forward to her knees, panting hard. Nagisa frantically went to her side. "I'm going… Don't bother with me. You're too weak right now anyway…" Sayaka muttered, not even turning to look back at Mami.

Mami reached a hand out. "Sayaka… please don't go…" Her voice was quivering and pleading as she fell to the ground again. "I know what you're doing… Don't leave again."

Sayaka clenched her fist. "You're delusional. You need to get home. Don't worry about me… I can't be any help to you anyway."

"Promise me you won't leave me again, Sayaka… Please…" Mami's voice was on the verge of tears. Sayaka was silent. Wordlessly, she raised a foot to take a stumbling step forward. She staggered off, slowly and zombie-like. Mami watched the knight leave, her figure melding into the shadows of the night. Mami's head hung low, a few sparse tears of both grief and anger dripping to the grass. Nagisa slowly helped her to her feet as the two made a slow return to the apartment.


	12. Chapter 12

Nagisa had to act as a crutch as she led Mami up the stairs to the apartment. Every few steps, the elder's knees would buckle and she would need to pause to catch her breath. An incessant ringing hung in her ears—Nagisa's worried pleas were largely incomprehensible as they made their way to their floor.

Mami's breaths were heavy and exhausted as she drew her key, missing the slot to her door a few times before shakily inserting it. Nagisa led her inside as she immediately collapsed on the couch. Gentle tears were visible in Mami's eyes, a mixture of physical and emotional distress.

Nagisa was in a muted panic, refusing to let her concern control her actions, but in a fragile state nonetheless. She set a pot on the stove for tea, hoping that would help Mami recover to some degree. As soon as the stove was on, she headed back to Mami's side.

"I'll be fine, Nagisa…" Mami mumbled, her voice riddled with a subtle quiver. "Please don't worry about me."

Nagisa shook her head. Her voice was equally shaky: "You're not okay. Don't say you are. You need help so please just let me help you!" She could feel a tear escape her eye and stream down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away, trying to keep her composure. "I almost lost you… I'm not going to let that happen again now that you're sick!"

"I'm not sick, I'm just tired…" Mami airly commented. Her eyes barely seemed to acknowledge Nagisa's presence. The child took her hand and reached for the ring around her finger. With a little concentration, the ring shifted into its egg-shaped form, falling gingerly into Nagisa's hands.

As suspected, shadows swirled over its orange surface. Before long, such a process would lose the soul to the Law of the Cycle. Nagisa's breathing grew sharper and more concerned. If there was going to be any chance of sparing Mami from being lost to the Law of the Cycle, she would need to act decisively and carefully.

Mami had realized what Nagisa was looking at, but was too dazed to take note of the details. "It's not too bad, is it?"

Nagisa could feel her mouth curl into an uncomfortable frown. "You're fine, senpai, just… please try to rest… And please stay calm…" Mami's vision was too blurry to notice the tears occasionally escaping from the corners of Nagisa's eyes. The responsibility of someone's life was too much for a child to bear, but she was determined to bear it as best she could.

She set the gem down on the coffee table as her mind desperately tried to sort out a solution: where she could find enough wraiths to fight on her own, the best strategy for acquiring curse fragments, who she could trust for help—

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that the sudden hiss of the kettle, coupled with a well-timed knock at the door evoked a startled scream. Mami suddenly bolted awake, sitting upright as her hand instinctively went for her gem. With a single, rapid motion, she drew a burning gold ribbon from its core which immediately reshaped into a flintlock pistol, so hastily made that it was unraveling at the stock. She immediately pointed the gun at the kettle, her eyes locked on what she perceived as a threat, though fortunately she didn't shoot.

Nagisa's arms were up in a panic, trying to urge Mami to calm down. There was another knock as Mami finally relaxed, slumping back against the couch and closing her eyes again. The pistol evaporated from her hand as Nagisa went to the door.

"Homura-san?" Nagisa asked timidly, taking a step back. Homura allowed herself in without a word. Mami's eyes didn't even open to acknowledge her.

"It seems Sayaka was successful… Good." Homura didn't turn her head to acknowledge Nagisa as she spoke, moving to kneel on a cushion by the coffee table, leaning in to inspect the soul gem. "Nagisa, please tend to the kettle. The hissing is quite unnecessary, though tea would be appreciated."

Nagisa hesitated but obeyed. Homura meant well, that much she knew. She proceeded to take out a few cups and prepare some tea for Homura and Mami.

"Please don't…" Mami muttered weakly. Homura was placing a few black fragments around Mami's soul gem.

"You're in no condition to protest," Homura commented as the curses began to sap the shadows from the gem. As Nagisa returned with the tea, Mami's soul gem was no longer overwhelmed with shadows. While it still lacked any glow or shine, it was healthy enough to survive.

Mami leaned back in her seat, her breathing a little less heavy, much to Nagisa's relief. There was silence. Nagisa knelt down on another cushion, sighing, grateful for Homura's intervention.

However, without warning, Mami suddenly snapped alert again, recreating the flintlock from before and pointing it directly at Homura.

Nagisa gasped, stifling her terror, though Homura didn't flinch. "I don't recall asking for your help, Akemi-san," Mami asserted. Her voice was tense and occasionally she'd tremble. As she spoke, her voice randomly would crack. "I don't know what you've been planning, where you've been, whose side you're on… I just… I don't like it. I don't want this." She sniffed, gritting her teeth. There were tears in her eyes. "You disappear for days and then only show up when there's trouble. It's too convenient."

Homura patiently rose to her feet, dismissively giving her hair a toss. Mami kept her gun trained on her. "Always the same with you, isn't it?" Homura mused, slight irritation in her voice.

"Mami… please calm down… you're scaring me…" Nagisa whimpered.

"Be quiet, Nagisa!" Mami shouted. Nagisa flinched. She could feel her eyes welling up again, this time not out of fear or panic. Mami turned back to Homura, demanding with a shaky voice: "Explain yourself."

"This is a rather poor way to thank someone for saving your life," Homura began. "I feel like I should be questioning you."

"Why did you intervene?" Mami began interrogating. "Why save my life? What about Sayaka? She's in just as bad a state, she deserves—"

"She matters simply because you would blame yourself if she were to die?" Homura inserted. Mami blinked, temporarily relaxing her grip. "I would have opted to leave you both to your fate. Magical girls who can no longer fight are no longer useful. Sakura-san insisted I help you, however, while she went to look for Sayaka." Homura gave another dismissive brush of her hair. "While I feel it would have been more tactical to save the gathered curses, I will admit that it is still fair to say you have a small stake in them, considering you initiated the battle."

Mami's edge was starting to wane, but she kept her gun raised. "I don't deserve nor want your pity… If… If Sayaka dies—"

"Mami—" Nagisa attempted to interject.

"Quiet!" Mami snapped again.

Homura took advantage of the distraction to step forward and swiftly struck Mami across the face, causing her to drop her pistol. "You're hardly in the right mind to suggest such foolish things such as pride or pity," she stated coldly. "Stop and look at yourself. You're so caught up into trying to save a life that you're neglecting those who are trying to save yours!"

Mami didn't turn her head back to face Homura, her cheek marked red. Nagisa was covering her mouth with her hands in shock. There was no response for several seconds. Homura turned to start heading to the door. "I took pity on you because I've experienced the same hell of trying to save someone countless times. You have the blessing of it not ending in perpetual failure." She stepped back again, her eyes cold. "You've always pushed yourself beyond your limits yet kept up an arrogant facade despite having the weakest heart. I elected to ignore that this final time in hopes that I could maybe see you as a friend. Even now, with nothing to lose, I'm questioning if that was a mistake."

Her words were cryptic. Without turning back, Homura headed out the door, leaving her tea untouched on the table. Nagisa bolted to her feet and immediately took off after her.

"Nagisa-!" Mami called, reaching out her arm only to be ignored. She hesitated before relaxing, taking a deep breath. She knew Nagisa wasn't going far. Gingerly, she reached up to feel the area where Homura had struck her—it still stung slightly, though upon reflection she fathomed she deserved it. She reached for her cup of tea.

Outside, Homura had stopped before the stairs, noticing Nagisa approaching from behind. Nagisa skidded to a stop, immediately taking a bow as Homura turned to acknowledge her.

"Thank you for helping Mami…" she sheepishly stated. "Please don't think ill of Mami-san for what she did, she's just—"

"I don't think any less of her than I did before," Homura responded, her gaze still unreadable, but her voice a little more gentle when dealing with the child.

Nagisa shuffled her stance a bit, a question burning in her mind. "Homura-san… Did you know Mami before?"

"You could say that. She wouldn't know of it, however." She turned her head towards the stairwell solemnly. "She'll never admit that she needs help, especially from you as her student. Still, you'll need to care for her for a while. Make sure she's in a better mood for when Sakura-san comes by." As she turned her head back, her gaze was more patient, with a small, understanding smile.

Nagisa raised her head, a bit taken aback by the sudden amiability, but gave a competent nod. Homura turned to head down the stairs once more.

* * *

><p><em>Where are you, blockhead…<em>

Mitakihara seemed bigger than normal. Kyouko Sakura, garbed in her red robe, lept from building to building, eyes scouring the dimly lit streets in search of said 'blockhead.' She needed answers, and Sayaka had them, yet no trace of her could be found, not even the faintest sign of magical energy. Before long, Kyouko found herself a few buildings apart from Sayaka's home, her search thus far remaining fruitless.

She shuffled atop a roof, jamming a stick of pocky into her mouth, and started to mull over her thoughts. There had to be an explanation. Sayaka was fairly quick to move, that much she could remember… unless, maybe she was injured? That would explain why she hadn't made it home yet. That said, she technically should've still made it back home by now, given how long it had taken Kyouko to finish off the wraiths with Homura.

This, of course, agitated Kyouko. Say Sayaka were injured: if she were to be attacked in her weakened state, would she survive? An even graver thought crossed her mind: what if she was so weak that she had already been lost to the Cycle? That didn't make sense either, however; Sayaka had been in healthy, fighting condition when Kyouko had intervened.

She shook her head and jumped off the roof, dissolving her magical robe as she began to trace back through the streets, this time at ground level. No, if Sayaka were attacked, she'd still be more than able to fight back, and that would've given off more than enough energy to find her.

_Idiot, better not be dead…_ Her eyes focused on the ground, frustrated, trying to hide her anxiety. _Please don't be dead._

Her wandering led her down a few streets to an open road a few blocks from Sayaka's home, the only noteworthy object in her path being a bus stop along the side of the road. With a sigh she meandered under its cover to sit down, hugging her light jacket a little tighter with a shiver. _I need to get new clothes,_ she thought to herself, finding her shorts a little inadequate to keep her legs from forming goosebumps.

She had already polished off her stick of pocky and reached to her pocket to get another, only to find her box was empty. She groaned.

"_Is something wrong, Kyouko Sakura?"_ a voice echoed in her head. She bolted upright, noticing the shadowy, red-eyed incubator sitting a few feet before her.

"Kyubey…" she growled at first below her breath. "Is Sayaka still alive?" she promptly asked, ignoring any further introductions.

The incubator's tail swished behind him. "_It would seem so, for now."_

"Do you know where she is?" she continued.

"_I do not. Her magic is very weak at the moment." _If that were true, then something had injured Sayaka. Kyubey dared to step closer. "_I'm curious as to why you intervened in that last fight. Considering your injuries it seemed far from lucrative."_

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"_Can you say the same of your soul gem?"_ Kyubey asked. Kyouko eyed him suspiciously, before conjuring her gem in her hand. As it rest in her palm, it failed to reflect any of the light from the street lamps nearby. A few black markings swirled around it.

"It's fine. I can get by," Kyouko insisted.

"_You have spoils from the recent battle, why not—" _he began.

"So being cautious is suddenly illogical?" Kyouko snapped. "Besides, if Sayaka's weak right now, I'd rather make sure she gets a cut."

"_What does helping her gain you? Do you two have an agreement? I rarely have seen you two so much as talk," _Kyubey continued questioning.

Kyouko dismissed her soul gem, leaning back and crossing her legs as she looked down at the incubator with an annoyed brow. "Why do you care so much?" Kyubey's ear suddenly twitched. "I don't need to explain myself. She helped with the fight, she should get something for it."

Kyubey's head was turned. "You're not even listening now, are you?" Kyouko grunted before sighing.

Kyubey's tail swished again. "_Rather it would seem Sayaka's coming this way now."_ Kyouko sat up, before getting to her feet. She peered out from the bus stop to see a staggering figure off in the distance.

The dim streetlights were enough to reveal that it was indeed Sayaka Miki. Kyouko started to approach, surprised at her own relief. The figure's head was bowed, slowly dragging its feet. At about 20 meters out, Kyouko called out: "Oi, Sayaka?"

They both stopped. Sayaka slowly raised her head. Her face seemed worn and tired. "You alright?" Kyouko continued. She began to take a few steps closer. Sayaka's gaze shifted downward again, not even acknowledging Kyouko as she drew within arm's length.

"...Sorry," she muttered. She dragged one foot forward to start to stumble onwards again, almost tripping. Kyouko reached out to grab her arm, catching her.

"Idiot…" Kyouko muttered, propping Sayaka against her shoulder. She let out a sigh. "...Thanks, by the way."

The two staggered on for a few more steps before Sayaka finally acknowledged her. "For what?"

"For saving Mami," Kyouko explained. She reached over and deposited half of her spoils into Sayaka's pocket. "Here. Now we're even."

Sayaka tensed up as Kyouko imparted the fragments. The two slowly passed the bus stop as Kyubey curiously but silently watched them press on.

"I don't deserve these… I didn't save anyone," Sayaka finally muttered slowly. "I made the kid do all the work."

"Yeah right, stop tryin' to be modest. You're the one with healing magic," Kyouko retorted. She sighed. "Honestly I was originally tryin' to find you so I could chew you out for getting in over your heads like that… I'm giving you a pass just this once."

Sayaka suddenly stopped walking. "I can't heal anything," she murmurred. Kyouko looked at her quizzically. "Every time I tried, it failed." She avoided eye contact, her head staying bowed. "Sorry for being useless..."

It took Kyouko a minute to realize what she was saying. Sayaka reached into her pocket. "Take these back… You at least can do more than I can." Sayaka's cryptic murmurs suddenly clicked within Kyouko as she reached out to grip Sayaka's fist, keeping it closed.

"Goddammit…" Kyouko muttered through grit teeth, averting her gaze. She gave a sigh, before looking at Sayaka again, their gazes finally meeting for the first time since the encounter started. She struggled on how to formulate her sentences, but held her stare. "If you call yourself useless again I'm gonna punch you… But if what you're saying is true, then you need these more than I do, and if you say otherwise then I'm gonna punch you a second time."

"If I can't be of use to anyone, what good am I?" Sayaka somberly asked.

Kyouko's grip tightened around Sayaka's fist. She averted her gaze, stumbling over her next words. "Oh cut the emo crap. If you give up on everything I'll punch you until you get back on your feet…. You held your own against me when we first met. Givin' up and being weak like that just makes me look weak…" She sighed, before staring at Sayaka again. "I guess what I'm saying is... if you can't find a reason to fight for yourself, at least do it for others. Mami and Nagisa would lose their shit if you gave in." Her eyes shifted once more. "I think I would too…"

There was silence for a moment. Kyouko's grip finally relaxed. "Yeah, magic helps, but you don't need it to define how you survive. You gotta adapt, find new ways to survive." Sayaka's hand slowly dropped to her side as she pocketed the curse fragments once more, submitting to Kyouko's request. The two stared at one another for some time, before Sayaka, still expressionless, broke the silence: "Fine. I'll try. I won't promise anything… but I'll try."

"Good enough," Kyouko confirmed. Sayaka began to move forward again, this time on her own. Her steps were still slow and deliberate, but were slightly less stumbling.

"_I do not think you have enough fragments left over for yourself, Kyouko Sakura,"_ Kyubey commented, still sitting by the bus stop.

Kyouko only turned her head briefly to acknowledge him, before stretching, placing her hands behind her head. "Would you relax?"

"_Agitation is not something I am capable of experiencing. However, it is highly unlikely that both you and Sayaka Miki will be able to survive at this point without deliberate and careful action," _he almost dismissively stated. "_It seems like a waste for two puella magi to die instead of one."_

Kyouko dismissed his forebodings with a roll of her eyes. "Hey, Kyubey?"

"_What is it?"_

"Shut up."


End file.
